February: Intuitive Machines returns for a second round <a href="https://kra26s.cc/">kra cc</a><br>Houston-based Intuitive Machines made history in February 2024 by putting a US-made lunar lander on the moon for the first time in more than five decades.<br><br>The triumphant touchdown of the company’s Nova-C lunar lander, called Odysseus, spurred jubilant cheers during the company’s webcast. But the landing wasn’t perfect: Odysseus tipped over on its side because of a navigation issue, leaving the vehicle to run with limited power and capabilities.<br><br>But Intuitive Machines will soon get another shot at perfection with a new Nova-C lander, called Athena, set to make its way moonward this year.<br><br>The mission, slated to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, could kick off as soon as late February, the company confirmed Monday. It will aim to land near the moon’s south pole — a region considered crucial to the current moon race because it’s believed to be home to stores of water ice.<br><br>Water found there could be used to provide astronauts with drinking water or even converted to rocket fuel.<br>