Intuitive Machines Stock Falls After Uncertain Athena Moon Landing

Zinger Key Points

Intuitive Machines' Athena lander has touched down on the lunar surface, but the spacecraft's exact status and orientation remain unclear.
LUNR shares dropped over 17% as investors reacted to the uncertainty.
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Intuitive Machines, Inc. LUNR shares are trading lower Thursday after the company's Athena lander reportedly faced technical issues during its lunar landing attempt.

What To Know: The Athena lander, part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, aimed to touch down approximately 100 miles from the lunar south pole. However, telemetry indicated that the lander's engine was still running past the scheduled landing time, suggesting it was hovering above the surface. Intuitive Machines later issued a brief confirmation that Athena is on the lunar surface and receiving solar power, but the lander's exact position remains uncertain.

The Houston-based company's latest lunar mission follows a prior attempt nearly a year ago with its Odysseus lander. That mission ended with a hard touchdown due to a faulty laser altimeter, causing the lander to topple over and rendering many of its onboard experiments inoperable. This time, Athena carried 11 payloads and scientific instruments intended to gather data near the lunar south pole, a region viewed as a critical target for future lunar exploration due to the presence of subsurface water ice.

The company ended its live stream shortly after announcing the landing and plans to provide further updates at a scheduled press conference. Intuitive Machines' stock, which has more than doubled over the past year, fell over 20% in afternoon trading as investors reacted to the uncertainty surrounding the lander's condition.

LUNR Price Action: Intuitive shares were down 18.5% at $11.51 at the time of writing, according to Benzinga Pro.