© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Nova-C lunar lander designed by aerospace company Intuitive Machines is displayed at the company’s headquarters in Houston, Texas, U.S., October 3, 2023. REUTERS/Evan Garcia/File Photo
By Akash Sriram
(Reuters) -Shares of Intuitive Machines slumped 21% on Tuesday after the space exploration company’s lunar mission neared a premature end after a sideways touchdown hindered communications and solar charging capability of its moon lander Odysseus.
If the premarket losses hold, it would wipe out nearly all the gains Intuitive Machines from last week after the first U.S. touchdown on the lunar surface in more than half a century and the first ever by the private sector.
The stock fell 35% on Monday, its worst drop in about a year, after the company warned communications with Odysseus are expected to cease on Tuesday, just five days after it landed some 300 km from the moon’s south pole.
“The reaction to the stock …. that’s a bit of an overreaction by the market,” said Cantor Fitzgerald senior analyst Andres Sheppard, as Intuitive has collected more than 95% of their target revenue of $130 million from the mission.
Only about 18% of Intuitive Machines’ outstanding shares are available to trade, according to LSEG data, making the stock that went public last year prone to high levels of volatility.
Intuitive had on Friday said Odysseus, which is carrying payloads for its main customer NASA, would have enough power to operate for nine to 10 days under a “best-case scenario”.
It is not clear yet as to how much scientific data might be lost due to the shortened length of the mission.
Some analysts said they see no impact of the issues faced over the past few days on the company’s next two missions and payloads scheduled later this year.
Intuitive has plans to use a Nova C lander, the same class as Odysseus for further missions. Its next mission, the IM-2, is set for launch later this year and will carry research tools to drill ice from below the moon’s surface.