MW Intuitive Machines' stock climbs as second moon-landing mission looms

By James Rogers

Intuitive Machines' IM-2 mission to the lunar surface is scheduled for launch late Wednesday

Shares of Intuitive Machines Inc. are up more than 8% in premarket trades as the space-exploration company prepares to launch its second mission to the moon late Wednesday.

The stock is on pace for its biggest daily percentage gain since Feb. 10, 2025, when it rose 8.3%, Dow Jones Market Data show. Intuitive Machines share are also set to snap a three-day losing streak.

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Intuitive Machines' IM-1 mission made history last year when Odysseus became the first commercial lander to successfully touch down on the moon's surface.

The company's IM-2 mission, which will see the company's Athena lunar lander launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, is scheduled for late Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A. The mission's launch window is between 7:02 p.m. and 7:34 p.m. Eastern time.

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IM-2 is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services $(CLPS)$ initiative to deliver science and technology to the moon's surface. Athena is scheduled to land at Mons Mouton, a plateau near the lunar South Pole following a journey of approximately eight days.

During a conference call to discuss Intuitive Machines' third-quarter results in November, Chief Executive Steve Altemus described IM-2 as a "very complicated" prospecting mission that will deploy a drill, hopper and rover on the lunar surface.

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Athena will deliver three NASA payloads to the lunar surface - these include a drill and a mass spectrometer to measure the presence of volatile substances or gases in the lunar soil. A laser retroreflector array on the lander's top deck will bounce laser light back to future orbiting or incoming spacecraft.

On Feb. 22, 2024, Intuitive Machines' uncrewed Odysseus lander became the first American spacecraft to reach the lunar surface since Apollo 17's Challenger lunar module. The lander toppled onto its side during its landing near the moon's south pole, but was still able to communicate with flight controllers. The mission ended on Feb. 29, 2024.

Related: Odysseus lander makes history by reaching moon, as Intuitive Machines' stock rockets 35%

Intuitive Machines has been clinching major deals, and in December won additional contracts from NASA's Near Space Network. The company's stock soared last year after it announced that NASA had awarded it the NSN contract for communication and navigation services for missions in near space, which extends from Earth's surface to beyond the moon. In late August, Intuitive Machines was also awarded a $116.9 million NASA contract to deliver six science and technology payloads to the moon's south pole.

The company's stock has risen 161.9% in the last 12 months.

-James Rogers

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February 26, 2025 08:25 ET (13:25 GMT)

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