NASA-Backed Lunar Landers Target Moon's South Pole for Water Hunt in Early March 2025

Two lunar landers, Athena and Blue Ghost, backed by NASA, are targeting the moon's south pole in early March 2025. Athena, launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, aims to land near Mons Mouton on March 6 to search for water ice. It carries a drill and mass spectrometer for detecting subsurface gases. Blue Ghost, already in lunar orbit, will attempt a landing on March 2 near Mons Latreille. It carries 10 NASA instruments to collect data on lunar dust and regolith. Both missions are part of NASA's Artemis program, envisioning the moon as a crucial step for future Mars expeditions.