A Jumping Lunar Robot Is About to Explore a Pitch-Black Moon Crater for the First Time

A new age of commercial moon exploration is upon us, and one of the most exciting missions yet is about to launch--one laden with rovers, a drill, and even a hopper spacecraft that will try to "jump" into a permanently dark lunar crater to search for ice. The IM-2 mission, from Texas-based company Intuitive Machines, is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Wednesday, February 26. The lander, nicknamed Athena and about the size of a car, is partially funded by NASA, as the US space agency attempts to create a new lunar economy that can support upcoming planned human missions to the moon. "NASA and the space industry is creating a new business, getting science and payloads to the surface of the moon," says Laura Forczyk, founder of the Georgia-based space consultancy firm Astralytical. "And these uncrewed missions are preparing us to send humans."