Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2025 February 28 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Athena to the Moon Image Credit: [3]Intuitive Machines Explanation: Planet Earth hangs in the background of this space age selfie. The snapshot was captured by the [4]IM-2 Nova-C lander Athena, just after stage separation following its February 26 [5]launch to the Moon. A tall robotic lander, Athena is scheduled to touch down on Thursday, March 6, in [6]Mons Mouton, a plateau near the Moon’s South Pole. The intended landing site is in the central portion of one of the [7]Artemis 3 potential landing regions. Athena carries rovers and experiments as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, including a drill intended to explore beneath the lunar surface in a search for evidence of frozen water. It also carries a propulsive drone dubbed the [8]Micro Nova Hopper. After release to the lunar surface, the autonomous drone is intended to hop into a nearby crater and send science data back to the lander. Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend __________________________________________________________________ [9]< | [10]Archive | [11]Submissions | [12]Index | [13]Search | [14]Calendar | [15]RSS | [16]Education | [17]About APOD | [18]Discuss | [19]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [20]Robert Nemiroff ([21]MTU) & [22]Jerry Bonnell ([23]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [24]Specific rights apply. [25]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [26]ASD at [27]NASA / [28]GSFC, [29]NASA Science Activation & [30]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2502/AthenaEarth.png 3. https://www.intuitivemachines.com/ 4. https://www.intuitivemachines.com/im-2 5. https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/liftoff-nasa-tech-science-en-route-to-moon-with-intuitive-machines/ 6. https://www.lroc.asu.edu/images/1401 7. https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-provides-update-on-artemis-iii-moon-landing-regions/ 8. https://www.intuitivemachines.com/micro-nova 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250227.html 10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 13. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 18. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250228 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250301.html 20. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 21. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 22. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 23. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 25. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 26. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 27. https://www.nasa.gov/ 28. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 29. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 30. http://www.mtu.edu/