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Space
Space
Science
Robert Z. Pearlman

First (and last?) look at Intuitive Machines' next moon lander's footpad designs (photos)

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A six-legged lunar lander is seen being fit into its launch shroud with an inset showing the detail on one of the craft's footpads.

Newly released photos of the next spacecraft to launch to the moon have revealed a detail that the U.S. company behind it really hopes will soon never be seen again.

Intuitive Machines on Thursday (Feb. 20) shared images of its second Nova-C lunar lander, "Athena," as it was being encapsulated within a protective fairing for its liftoff to deliver NASA and commercial payloads to the moon's surface. The photos show the 14-foot-tall (4.3-meter) probe from just below its launch mount, such that the bottoms of some of its six legs' footpads are in view.

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