# Nova-C Lander at The Moon: deployment

Canonical ID: `334918a0-261e-4b1b-a5ff-1e244a1f497a`

## Key facts

- **Mission:** IM-2 (Athena)
- **Outcome:** Landed near the lunar south pole 2025-03-06; altimeter failed during descent, struck a plateau and TIPPED into a crater on its side; solar orientation drained the battery; declared dead, mission ended early (failed)

**Trust tier:** Catalog entry · 1 source · not yet field-verified

_Last updated: 2026-06-05_

- **Slug:** nova-c-im2-moon-2025
- **Status:** ended
- **Model:** [Nova-C Lander](/models/nova-c-lander.md) (id: `b08e32f0-9ae9-4254-bf85-ad2b9ea9d3bc`)
- **Company:** [Intuitive Machines](/companies/intuitive-machines.md) (id: `27a3586b-40de-4a66-822e-e01529f75fc8`)
- **Location:** [The Moon](/locations/the-moon.md) (id: `f1197527-6621-41c7-95a4-b34f80e2d112`)
- **First seen:** 2025-03-06T12:00:00.000Z

## Verification log (0, append-only)

_No verifications recorded._

## Sources (1)

1. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/athena-lunar-lander-declared-dead-on-the-moon/

## Common questions

### What is the Nova-C Lander deployment at The Moon?

Nova-C Lander, built by Intuitive Machines, is recorded as a deployment at The Moon on the DEPLOY registry. Intuitive Machines operates the deployment directly.

### Who operates Nova-C Lander at The Moon?

Intuitive Machines, the manufacturer of Nova-C Lander, operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.

### When did the Nova-C Lander deployment at The Moon go live?

The deployment is recorded as starting March 6, 2025 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.

### Is the Nova-C Lander deployment at The Moon still active?

As of the most recent verification on the DEPLOY registry, this deployment is no longer operating at this location.

### Have there been incidents at the Nova-C Lander deployment at The Moon?

No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.


_API: GET /v1/robots/334918a0-261e-4b1b-a5ff-1e244a1f497a · feeds: GET /v1/feeds?deploymentId=334918a0-261e-4b1b-a5ff-1e244a1f497a · canonical URL: /deployments/nova-c-im2-moon-2025_