Intuitive Machines’ stock price dropped 22% on Friday after the company confirmed its second moon lander, Athena, landed on its side, mirroring a similar issue from its previous mission.
The six-legged lander touched down near the moon’s south pole, but ended up tilted, rendering it unlikely to recharge due to solar panel orientation and extreme cold.
“Due to the sun’s position, the solar panel alignment, and the severe cold in the crater, Intuitive Machines doesn’t expect Athena to regain power,” the company stated.
The company’s shares had already fallen 20% on Thursday, despite a year that saw them more than double.
Athena carried various payloads, including a drill for water ice detection and the first lunar data center and cellular network. Despite the landing issue, Intuitive Machines managed to send 250 megabytes of data to NASA.
In a separate event, SpaceX’s Starship, the world’s largest rocket, exploded shortly after launch, scattering debris over Florida and the Bahamas, marking the company’s second consecutive failed launch.
Intuitive Machines is part of NASA’s initiative to revitalize lunar exploration through private sector partnerships. The company’s CEO, Altemus, indicated that their third lunar mission, planned for next year, might be delayed to coincide with a communications satellite deployment.
NASA has also awarded Intuitive Machines a fourth mission in 2027 to deliver payloads that could help understand the origins of water in the solar system.
Meanwhile, Firefly Aerospace successfully landed its Blue Ghost lander on the moon over the weekend, achieving the most successful soft landing by a private company to date.
“While the sideways landing may impact Intuitive Machines’ credibility, we still believe they are well-positioned in the industry,” said Andres Sheppard, senior analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald. “We don’t see this as a sign of the company being in a critical situation.”
