Shares of Intuitive Machines plummeted by 22% on Friday following the confirmation by the U.S. space exploration company of the unsuccessful landing of its second moon lander, Athena, mirroring a similar event last year.
The six-legged lander landed approximately 100 miles (160 km) from the moon's south pole, but the mission was terminated when the spacecraft tipped over after reaching several mission milestones.
Citing challenges related to sunlight direction, the position of solar panels, and frigid temperatures in the crater, Intuitive Machines announced that Athena was unlikely to regain power.
Intuitive Machines, based in Houston, Texas, saw its shares drop by 20% on Thursday, despite a doubling in value over the previous year.
Athena, which carried 11 payloads and scientific instruments including a drill for water ice, detected only 250 megabytes of data for NASA before the mission's conclusion.
In a separate incident, SpaceX’s Starship mega-rocket, the world's largest, experienced debris dispersal off the coast of Florida and the Bahamas shortly after launch on Thursday, marking the company’s second consecutive failure.
As part of NASA's lunar exploration renaissance with reduced expenses, Intuitive is at the forefront among private companies contributing to U.S. moon-related initiatives.
Intuitive Machines may postpone its third lunar landing mission scheduled for next year under the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services program to await the launch of a company communications satellite, as CEO Altemus disclosed on Thursday.
Furthermore, the space agency granted the company a fourth mission in 2027 to deliver six payloads to the moon, aiding in the discovery of water's origin across the solar system.
Firefly Aerospace, based in Austin, recently executed a successful soft landing on the moon, accomplishing the most prosperous private company landing to date.
Notable analyst Andres Sheppard from Cantor Fitzgerald addressed Intuitive's recent challenges assessing, "It (sideways landing) may affect (Intuitive's) credibility, but we still believe they are well-positioned to succeed in the industry," implying the setback does not indicate a dire situation for the company.