Intuitive Machines’ stock recently plummeted by 15% after the company’s lunar exploration mission was cut short due to a landing impact that affected the communication and charging capabilities of the Odysseus lander.
Nova-C lander from Intuitive Machines. (Photo: Reuters).
If the stock price continues to decline, the entire profit that the company earned from last week’s Odysseus lunar landing event could be wiped out. The successful landing marks the first time the U.S. has returned to the Moon in over half a century and also the first time a private company has conquered this celestial body.
The company’s shares fell by 35% on February 26, marking its worst drop in about a year, after the company warned that communication signals with Odysseus might be interrupted on February 27, just five days after it landed approximately 300 km from the Moon’s south pole.
More than 95% of Intuitive Machines’ total revenue of $150 million comes from this mission.
Last week, the company stated that Odysseus would have enough power to operate for 9 to 10 days under a “best-case scenario.”
The primary mission of Odysseus is to deliver NASA’s equipment to the Moon.
It remains unclear how much scientific data could be lost due to the shortened mission duration.
Intuitive plans to launch the Nova-C lander, which is in the same class as Odysseus, in its next mission, expected later this year, to carry lunar ice drilling tools.
