Athena spacecraft lands on the Moon, on its side

A US private space company says its lunar lander has touched down on the Moon, but at the wrong angle.

The Athena spacecraft blasted off from Earth at the end of February and was due to spend 10 days on the Moon's surface.

The craft is carrying scientific instruments including a hopping robot and the first lunar mobile communications antenna.

Because of the wonky angle, the team thinks it is unlikely to be able to complete its mission.

"With the direction of the sun, the orientation of the solar panels, and extreme cold temperatures in the crater, Intuitive Machines does not expect Athena to recharge," the company said in a statement about the mission called IM-2.

Despite this setback the mission still achieved new things in the ongoing exploration of the Moon.

What's happened to Athena?

Athena stands at 4.8 metres tall, around the height of an adult giraffe

Athena, a spacecraft from US private company Intuitive Machines, blasted off from Earth on 26 February.

It landed earlier this week around 100 miles from the South Pole, in an area of the Moon called Mons Mouton.

The company is partnered with US space agency Nasa to look for evidence of water and ice on the lunar surface.

Athena carries an ice-drilling experiment, a 4G cellular network test and three rovers.

It also has a unique hopping drone on board, named Grace, which is designed to leap and fly across the Moon's surface to reach a large crater that is in permanent shadow.

It's not the first time that the private company has had problems with landing its spacecrafts.

Last year, its Odysseus probe broke a leg and toppled over upon touchdown - but it continued to stream data back to Earth.