Your Ultimate Guide to Watching Intuitive Machines’ Second Moon Landing Mission Live!

Last year, Intuitive Machines made headlines by landing a robot on the moon. Now, the Houston-based company is gearing up for another attempt, this time with a new spacecraft called Athena. The goal? To keep it upright when it lands.

The first spacecraft, named Odysseus, touched down on the lunar surface in February despite landing on its side. It was an impressive feat as it became the first commercially operated lander to reach the moon and the first American vehicle to do so since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Athena is currently on the launchpad, and all eyes are on it for the upcoming test flight.

So, when can you catch the launch? Athena, along with three other spacecraft, will take off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch is scheduled for 7:16 p.m. ET on February 26. The weather looks promising, with over a 95% chance of good conditions.

If any weather or technical issues come up, there will be backup launch opportunities over the next four days. If none of these work, the mission could be pushed back a month.

You can tune in to NASA’s coverage starting about 45 minutes before liftoff to catch all the action.

Where is Athena heading? If all goes as planned, it will attempt to land on March 6 in Mons Mouton, a site located approximately 100 miles from the moon’s south pole. This landing would be the closest any lunar lander has ventured to that region before.

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