ARMAS FM11 collects extraterrestrial radiation data and lands on Moon
PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA. Space Environment Technologies’ (SET) Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety (ARMAS) Flight Module 11 (FM11) radiation monitor landed on the Moon Thursday March 6, 2025 at approximately 17:35 UT. ARMAS FM11 was a payload inside the Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission lunar lander, Athena, which landed 250 meters from its intended landing site in the Mons Mouton region of the lunar south pole, inside of a crater. This was the southernmost lunar landing and surface operations ever achieved.
Intuitive Machines announced that “images downlinked from Athena on the lunar surface confirmed that Athena was on her side. After landing, mission controllers were able to accelerate several program and payload milestones, including NASA’s PRIME-1 suite, before the lander’s batteries depleted.”
Despite the disappointment of mission termination shortly after landing, SET’s President W. Kent Tobiska noted, “we are grateful to the Intuitive Machines, Lonestar, and Spacebilt organizations for the opportunity to participate with them in this adventure of a commercial landing on the Moon. Although we experienced a different landing orientation than we all had hoped for, SET’s ARMAS FM11 performed flawlessly between the Earth and Moon, collecting approximately 32 hours of excellent radiation data in the region between Earth’s geosynchronous orbit and lunar orbit. These data, currently being analyzed, will inform the next generation of landers and astronauts traveling across deep space to arrive at our closest celestial neighbor. The adventure of commercial activity in space continues expanding and SET looks forward towards successful collaborative missions in the future.”