Shares of Intuitive Machines saw a notable surge in trading on Friday following the successful culmination of the company’s inaugural moon landing endeavor. Intuitive Machines’ lunar cargo lander, named “Odysseus,” achieved a significant milestone by becoming the premier privately developed spacecraft to touch down on the lunar surface on Thursday.
Notably, it also marked the first soft landing by a U.S. spacecraft on the moon in more than half a century. The Houston-based company verified that its IM-1 mission lander was securely positioned and actively transmitting data back to Earth. “Odysseus has found his new home,” remarked Tim Crain, Chief Technology Officer and IM-1 mission director at Intuitive Machines, from the company’s mission control center.
Intuitive Machines’ stock initially surged by 40% from its previous closing price of $8.28 per share, although it later moderated its gains amid robust trading activity. Presently, the company commands a market valuation of approximately $1 billion. The firm’s stock had been on an upward trajectory over the preceding month, buoyed by mounting anticipation surrounding the IM-1 mission’s progress.
Intuitive Machines had entered the public domain via a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) merger a year prior, with its shares gradually declining to record lows near $2 in January. Wall Street analysts, in anticipation of the landing, underscored to CNBC the potential for volatile momentum trading owing to the unprecedented nature of the event.
“We’ve never witnessed a publicly traded company undergo [a moon landing attempt]. So this is novel, not only for investors but also for us analysts,” remarked Andres Sheppard of Cantor Fitzgerald ahead of the landing.
“Odysseus is alive and well. Flight controllers are in communication with the vehicle, directing it to transmit scientific data,” the company announced in a statement on Friday morning. Intuitive Machines further disclosed that the lander is in the process of recharging its solar panels. The company, in conjunction with NASA, anticipates hosting a press briefing later on Friday.
The Odysseus lander carried a total of 12 government and commercial payloads, with six designated for NASA under a $118 million contract through the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. Intuitive Machines has already secured two additional CLPS contracts for forthcoming lander missions, with IM-2 slated for potential launch as early as the latter half of this year.
Moreover, the company is a beneficiary of a five-year $719 million contract to furnish engineering services to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Analysts project that the Goddard contract could yield approximately $11 million in monthly revenue for Intuitive Machines.
