The Athena moon lander beamed home a poignant lunar view. Soon after, its mission ended. After performing excellently on its flight to and around the moon, Intuitive Machine's Athena spacecraft experienced a landing mishap that resulted in the 15-foot-tall robot lying on its side.

The IM-2 lander is believed to have reached the moon's south pole region, but its precise position and location are unclear. Its intended landing area was Mons Mouton, an area believed to have water ice deposits. Here's a look at the mission profile showing the lander's journey from its Feb. 26 launch to today's arrival on the moon:

The lunar lander, called Blue Ghost, settled onto the Moon's surface at 2:34 am CST (3:34 am EST; 08:34 UTC). A few dozen engineers in Firefly's mission control room monitored real-time data streaming down from a quarter-million miles away.