A private lunar lander is no longer working after landing sideways in a crater near the moon’s south pole and its mission is over, officials said Friday. The news came less than 24 hours after the botched landing attempt by

Intuitive Machines’s Nova-C lander reached the moon Thursday but its orientation on the lunar surface was unknown as of Noon CST.

St. Petersburg-based space startup Lonestar Data Holdings says its lunar data center is the only surviving payload after a private lunar lander came down sideways on the moon.

The Athena lunar lander touched down on the moon Thursday morning, and the MAPP rover on board could be the first to explore the moon's south pole. As of Thursday afternoon, it was unclear if the lander was on its side and whether the rover could still accomplish its mission if so.

After a day of uncertainty following a harrowing moon landing attempt, the company Intuitive Machines sealed the fate of its latest lunar probe Athena. The spacecraft, which attempted a historic landing in rugged terrain near the south pole of the moon on Thursday (March 6), had toppled on its side inside a frigid crater.

A privately owned lunar lander has touched down near the moon's south pole. But flight controllers in Texas fear it may have fallen over.

Intuitive Machines' Athena moon lander planned to deploy two small rovers, a rocket-powered "hopper," and use a powerful drill to probe the lunar surface.

Blue Ghost successfully landed on the moon on Sunday (March 2), touching down in Mare Crisium ("Sea of Crises") — a large impact basin about 345 miles (555 kilometers) wide. The spacecraft sits near a volcanic cone called Mons Latreille within the basin, which is located in the northeast region of the moon's near side.

The final images from the ‘Athena’ lander seem to show it awkwardly approaching the Moon from its side. Intuitive Machines has since confirmed that the IM-2's orientation is off.

SpaceX will launch Intuitive Machine’s Athena lunar lander toward the moon’s south pole on Wednesday, marking the latest mission by Intuitive Machine to explore the moon’s surface after completing the first-ever lunar landing by a private company last year.