CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Landing a spacecraft on the moon has long been a series of hits and misses. The latest casualty came this week after Intuitive Machines put another lander sideways on the moon through a NASA-sponsored program. Within 24 hours, the lander’s batteries were dead and the mission was over.

The latest mission, referred to as IM-2 or PRIME-1, is slated for a moon landing at 11:32 a.m. CT on March 6. Intuitive Machines and NASA will provide live event coverage, starting at 10:30 a.m. CT. In the video above, the Athena lander can be seen flying over the lunar south pole near its intended landing site.

The Athena lander from Intuitive Machines could not charge its batteries after ending up on its side. It largely failed to accomplish science and technology tasks for NASA and other customers.

For the second time in less than a week, a privately built U.S. spacecraft has landed on the moon, but it was not a perfect touchdown. Former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino breaks down whether the spacecraft is on the right side up and how it could continue on.

The mission, aptly named “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” touched down in Mare Crisium, a large impact site filled with basaltic lava on the Moon. Blue Ghost pulled off a precision landing, touching down within a 328-foot (100-meter) target next to a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille.

Shares of Intuitive Machines slumped to close 22% lower on Friday after the U.S. space exploration company confirmed that its second moon lander, Athena, landed on its side a day ago, similar to its first attempt last year.

The 6.6-foot-tall lander, funded by NASA as part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, is carrying a suite of instruments and experiments for the space agency as NASA prepares to establish a permanent presence on the moon. This includes radiation-tolerant computing tests and sampling of the lunar regolith.

Intuitive Machines' stock fell sharply after the IM-2 mission failed to land properly, impacting its solar panels and raising concerns about future contracts. Despite the setback, the company's business model shows potential with high-margin opportunities in data transmission and infrastructure, contingent on successful delivery missions.

The mission comes four days after another commercial space company, Firefly Aerospace, successfully landed its spacecraft on the moon.

If successful, Athena would be the second US-made spacecraft to land on the moon this week. Texas-based Firefly Aerospace landed its Blue Ghost on Sunday. • Athena’s target landing site is ...

Firefly Aerospace successfully reached the lunar surface, to be followed in short order by space companies Intuitive Machines and ispace.