Intuitive Machines Stock Is In Free Fall Thursday: What's Going On?

Intuitive Machines Inc LUNR shares are extending losses from the regular session in after-hours Thursday after the company’s moon lander experienced technical issues during its attempted moon landing.

What Happened: Intuitive Machines shares fell more than 20% on Thursday after the company’s IM-2 mission Nova-C class lunar lander "Athena" experienced some issues around the time it was scheduled to touch down on the moon’s surface.

The selloff in shares accelerated after the market close as the company and NASA held a press conference to provide updates on the IM-2 mission.

“We’ve been very successful to this point, however I do have to tell you that we don’t believe we’re in the correct attitude on the surface of the moon yet again,” Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus said in the press conference.

The Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission is the company’s second under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, which aims to lay the foundation for future human missions and a long-term human presence on the moon. The company’s moon lander "Odysseus" landed on the moon's surface last year, but was incorrectly positioned.

Altemus noted that communications are working properly on the moon lander, but there are issues with power generation and challenges with measurements from the laser range finders on the lander, which likely means that it’s laying on its side.

Intuitive Machines said it will provide further updates once it can confirm the position of the lander. The company plans to evaluate mission plans with NASA as more data becomes available.

LUNR Price Action: At the time of publication, Intuitive Machines shares were down 25.22% after hours at $8.42 after falling more than 20% in the regular session, according to Benzinga Pro.

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Photo: Courtesy of Intuitive Machines.