Intuitive Machines stock falls 32% after Odysseus lunar lander crashes
Shares of Intuitive Machines fell more than 30% on Friday in the hours after the space exploration company said its Odysseus lunar module fell sideways while landing near the moon’s south pole, disrupting communications with Earth.
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CEO Steve Altemus said Friday that Odysseus “stepped on the (moon’s) surface and tilted sideways” during Thursday’s landing, according to the Associated Press.
Altemus said the spacecraft still has “significant operational capability,” but some of its antennas are pointed toward the lunar surface, limiting its ability to communicate with flight controllers and transmit data. He said the lander may have broken one of its six legs after descending too quickly and is now propped up against a rock.
The news sent shares of Houston-based Intuitive Machines down 31.7% in after-hours after rising 15.8% in regular trading Friday following Odysseus’ landing. The company initially He said the spaceship was upright. On Thursday it became the first commercial lander to successfully reach the moon, but the extent of its success may now be in doubt given the complexity of the mission.
Odysseus, which was also the first American spacecraft to reach the Moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, carries scientific and technological equipment on behalf of NASA. The space agency, through its Artemis program, is sponsoring and supporting the mission, launched on February 15, to return astronauts to the moon as early as 2026.
Other commercial attempts to land on the moon have also faced problems in recent years. In 2019, Israel’s Beresheet attempted to become the first civilian lander on the lunar surface, but crashed during its attempted landing. Four years later, Japan’s civilian Hakuto-R mission also failed to make a ‘soft landing’ on the lunar surface.
Last month, private American space company Astrobotic Technology ended its difficult mission to place the Peregrine lander on the moon.
