The Falcon 9 rocket belonging to SpaceX left for the moon this Wednesday evening the 26th of February 2025. The rocket is carrying Athena as well as NASA’s ride-along Lunar Trailblazer orbiter. The main aim of this lunar mission is to hunt ice over the lunar surface. The liftoff happened at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. If you are someone who wants to know more about the SpaceX rocket launch, this article is for you. It brings you all the must-know details about the Falcon 9 launch and the mission highlights of the moon landing.
SpaceX Rocket Launch: Falcon 9 Carries Athena And Lunar Trabelizer To The Moon
Intuitive Machines built Athena in Houston which carried 10 NASA science instruments to the moon. The main aim of this launch is to find ice water on the lunar surface. Lunar Trabelizer is also supposed to do a similar job but from a higher perch. NASA is highly prioritizing this as a part of its Artemis program. This program aims to establish one or more human settlements on the lunar surface. Nicky Fox, who is the associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, made a statement at the pre-launch event. He talked about his excitement to see the science their tech demonstrators deliver as they prepare for humans’ return to the moon.
The Intuitive Machines IM-2 Mission Launched
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 7:16 p.m. EST on the 26th of February 2025. The launch took place from the KSC Launch Complex-39A. Around 8.5 minutes after the launch, the first-stage booster of the rocket came back to SpaceX’s ASOG according to the plan. This was the 9th launch as well as the landing of the Falcon 9 booster supporting the IM-2 mission.
SpaceX Rocket Launch Mission Details
Around 43.5 minutes later, the upper-stage rocket of Falcon 9 deployed Athena into the translunar injection orbit. The Lunar Trabelizer was deployed on the translunar injection orbit 4 minutes after Athena’s deployment. Athena is headed toward the Mons Mouton region of the moon. This area over the moon is believed to have significant ice deposits. The moon lander is supposed to reach the lunar surface 1.5 to three days after reaching the lunar orbit.
PRIME-1 is the main scientific package of the lander. The package consists of the Regolith Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain (TRIDENT). It also has a Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo). The two instruments will perform various lunar operations. The TRIDENT is going to extract samples while the MSOLO will test them for water and carbon dioxide.
The IM-2 hopper called Grace will be exploring the landing area of Athena within a mile radius. The permanently shadowed floor of a nearby crater is the main target of the hopper. It is believed to have large ice deposits and a rover cannot explore such terrain. The MAPP rover will be the communication link between Athena and Grace with the moon’s first cellular network.
The Lunar Trabelizer will also help in mapping ice water deposits on the lunar surface from the lunar orbit. The information gathered will compliment the information Athena gathers on the surface.
SpaceX Rocket Launch: Mission Objectives
The main objective of Athena’s mission is to hunt for the abundance of ice water as well as other important resources on the lunar south pole. It will help future missions to utilize those resources for sustainable habitability in space. NASA purchased this mission for $47 million and the investment increased up to $62.5 million after barite changes in the mission.
IM-2 Is The Second Attempt To Land On The Moon
The Intuitive Machines is numbered 2 because it is the second attempt to land on the moon. The IM-1 moon lander named Odysseus was launched in the month of February last year. Odysseus managed to touch down the surface of the moon. However, the probe came in too fast, and one of its landing legs broke. This ended up tripping the lander. The high-gain antenna was blocked and NASA couldn’t transfer any data. Trent Martin, who is the senior vice president of IM’s space systems, mentioned that they hope to land in a more precise position.
