Latest news with #IM-1
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Should You Buy Intuitive Machines Stock While It's Trading Below $8?
It's been just over a year since Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) made history as the first private company to achieve a successful lunar landing. The mission marked a milestone in commercial space exploration, but more importantly, it solidified the company's position as a leader in the burgeoning industry with proven technical capabilities. Despite a strong growth outlook fueled by several high-profile contracts, shares of Intuitive Machines have cratered at the start of 2025, trading down 60% year to date at the time of this writing amid the broader stock market sell-off. With the stock now trading below $8, is it a buy? Here's what you need to know. Intuitive Machines does not launch rockets itself but instead designs, builds, and operates spacecraft, such as its lunar landers. For its groundbreaking February 2024 IM-1 mission, the company's Odysseus Nova-C lander rode a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket -- an approach that allows it to concentrate on its core strengths in payload delivery, lunar surface infrastructure, mobility and robotics, satellite operations, and data communications services. The company aims to advance its technology steadily, eyeing a space infrastructure market opportunity that experts project will grow to $1.8 trillion by 2035. The early financial results have been impressive. In 2024 (covering the full year ended Dec. 31) Intuitive Machines' total revenue reached $228 million, nearly triple the 2023 result amid multiple contract awards and a close partnership with NASA, ending the year with a $328 million backlog. Projects fueling Intuitive Machines' growth include the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which builds on IM-1's success with IM-2's South Pole landing earlier this year to prospect for water. Two more lunar missions are slated through 2027. There is also the ongoing Omnibus Multidiscipline Engineering Services contract that further supports NASA with broad operational expertise. For 2025, the company projects revenue of $250 million to $300 million, a solid 20% annual increase. While Intuitive Machines is not yet profitable, management's guidance suggests a positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) run rate by the end of the year, and for 2026, an encouraging sign of more sustainable fundamentals. This is backed by a robust balance sheet, with $385 million in cash and zero debt as of March 13, ensuring ample liquidity to drive its ambitions. One of the attractions of Intuitive Machines as an investment is that, despite uncertainties over the U.S. economy's strength and the looming impact of Trump administration trade tariffs, its business profile and operating tailwinds remain largely insulated from these dynamics. Its multiyear NASA contracts, funded at the federal level, ensure project continuity regardless of how consumer spending or GDP evolves, providing valuable stability in the early stages of a fast-evolving space exploration industry. While a severe economic downturn could pressure NASA to reassess future projects or limit private sector opportunities, it's business as usual for now. Looking ahead, key catalysts could reignite investor enthusiasm and boost Intuitive Machines' battered stock price. The IM-3 mission, set for early 2026, will launch the first of five data relay satellites under the NASA Near Space Network contract, marking its entry into lucrative high-bandwidth transmission solutions as part of its space infrastructure-as-a-service offerings. Later in 2025, NASA's decision on the $4.6 billion Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract, spanning 15 years through 2040, could be a game-changer for Intuitive Machines, one of three finalists. Additional private sector engagements and deployment announcements would likely further bolster its growth trajectory to lift investor sentiment. I'm bullish on Intuitive Machines and see the recent stock price weakness as a chance for investors to buy the dip before a potential rebound. With the stock trading approximately 5 times its estimated 2025 revenue, the forward price-to-sales (P/S) ratio highlights compelling value for an industry pioneer with substantial long-term potential. The rally from here may not shoot straight into orbit, but the company has the pieces in place to reward shareholders over the long run. A small position in the stock, built through dollar-cost averaging to manage near-term volatility, could work well within a diversified portfolio. Before you buy stock in Intuitive Machines, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Intuitive Machines wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $461,558!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $578,035!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 730% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 147% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of April 5, 2025 Dan Victor has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Should You Buy Intuitive Machines Stock While It's Trading Below $8? was originally published by The Motley Fool
Axios
07-03-2025
- Science
- Axios
Intuitive Machines lander arrives on the Moon, but on its side
Houston-based Intuitive Machines says the spacecraft scheduled to land on the Moon Thursday arrived but landed on its side. Why it matters: The machine aims to help gather critical data for NASA's Artemis missions to the Moon. The project is part of a NASA program that utilizes public-private partnerships to lay the foundation for a sustained human lunar presence. Driving the news: Intuitive Machines, a space exploration, infrastructure, and services company, said that its IM-2 mission lunar lander, Athena, landed 250 meters from its intended landing site. The company said this was the southernmost lunar landing ever achieved, which is significant because NASA plans on sending astronauts to the Moon's southern lunar pole. Yes, but: Being on its side prevents the sunlight from reaching solar panels intended to recharge its battery. Mission controllers were able to deploy some experiments and payloads on the lunar surface before the battery depleted entirely. Catch up quick: The company landed its IM-1 vehicle on the Moon in 2024, but the machine tipped over upon touchdown, cutting the mission short. The IM-2 was launched by the SpaceX Falcon 9 in late February and orbited the Moon 39 times before landing on Thursday. What they're saying: "Our goal is to set American companies up to establish a lunar economy on the surface, and that means that even if it doesn't land perfectly, we always learn lessons that we can provide and use in the future," Nicola Nicky Fox, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA, said during a news conference after the landing. What's next: The mission has concluded, but scientists will continue to assess data collected from the lander.
Axios
06-03-2025
- Science
- Axios
Houston company readies for Moon landing
A Houston space company is slated to land on the Moon's surface Thursday. Why it matters: Private, unmanned Moon landings are ramping up ahead of NASA's plan to put humans on the lunar surface this decade. Plus, it's one more feather in our Space City cap. Driving the news: Intuitive Machines engineers hope the IM-2 lander — nicknamed Athena — will safely touch down near the Moon's southern pole at 11:32am CST Thursday, the company says. The equipment was rocketed by SpaceX Falcon 9 in late February and has been orbiting the Moon since earlier this week. Flashback: The company landed its IM-1 vehicle on the Moon in 2024, but the machine tipped over upon touchdown, cutting the mission short. The big picture: The IM-2 will help gather critical data for NASA's Artemis missions to the Moon. The instruments onboard are part of a NASA program that utilizes public-private partnerships to lay the foundation for a sustained human lunar presence. How to watch: The landing will be livestreamed on NASA+ and Intuitive Machines' YouTube channel.
CNN
27-02-2025
- Science
- CNN
Texas-based company that made historic soft touchdown on the moon launches high-stakes lunar excursion
Two robotic landers, one from the United States and the other from Japan, are currently in transit toward the moon — and a third has just joined them. The latest contender is a standout: The spacecraft, called Athena, was built by Houston-based Intuitive Machines, which so far is the only private sector company on Earth that has previously made a safe touchdown on the moon. The lunar lander hitched a ride to orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which took off at 7:16 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Athena, on a mission dubbed IM-2, will later aim to make a daring descent toward the moon's south pole. The region is considered crucial to the modern lunar space race. Scientists suspect it is rich with stores of water ice, a resource that can be converted to breathable air, drinking water or even rocket fuel. As part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS program, Intuitive Machines' lander will be equipped with a suite of technology — including a drill, a small robotic 'hopper' and a tiny rover — that will allow it to scour the treacherous, crater-riddled terrain and determine whether there is evidence of water. 'It's very dynamic with a lot of moving parts,' Intuitive Machines cofounder and CEO Steve Altemus said of the mission in an interview earlier this month. The Athena spacecraft, a six-legged lander roughly the size of a telephone booth, will take about a week to reach its destination. The lander will have a truncated trajectory toward the moon compared with the landers that launched last month: Austin, Texas-based Firefly's Blue Ghost, which is slated to land this weekend, and a lander from Japan-based Ispace, which won't touch down on the moon before this spring. Second moon shot with bigger goals Intuitive Machines made history last year when its first lunar lander, Odysseus — or 'Odie,' as it was called by the startup's employees — made a soft touchdown on the lunar surface. Odie succeeded where many others had failed: About half of all lunar landers do not reach their intended destination or crash-land. And before the IM-1 mission, as Odie's journey was called, only a few nations' civil space programs had soft-landed spacecraft on the moon. But the trip wasn't perfect. A mission-threatening problem arose when Intuitive Machines engineers realized they had not hardwired a rangefinder — or laser designed to measure precise altitude — correctly. That misstep forced the company to rely on an experimental NASA payload that happened to be on board for navigational support. And while Odie safely touched down near the Malapert A crater in the moon's south pole region, the vehicle broke a leg and landed on its side, tipped over on the edge of a crater. Mission teams were able to reconfigure the spacecraft's communications method in order to retrieve valuable data from onboard science instruments. But the vehicle did not operate as long as Intuitive Machines had expected it would. With the IM-1 mission, Odie sought to test out several navigation technologies and gather scientific data using the NASA science instruments. Odie only had to perch in place as it transmitted data back home. With IM-2, however, the stakes are higher. The Athena lander comes equipped with several smaller robots it will deploy as well as a drill expected to bear down into the moon's surface, scouring for water ice. 'This is a much more complex and dynamic and exciting mission,' Altemus said. 'It's one thing to land on the moon. And now we're down to business on the second attempt.' Journey to Mons Mouton After reaching space aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, Athena is set to begin a 'a high-energy fastball pitch towards the moon,' as Altemus previously described the trajectory. The journey will include several nail-biting moments. 'Being a steely eyed missile man, I don't know that we freak out — but there are moments of increased anxiety,' Altemus said. 'We'll see when we go to light the engine the first time that level of anxiety. Everything (has to) come together perfectly to go right, to fire the engine, to put us on our way to the moon. I think that's the first one where it's really going to be a knot in our stomach.' At one point on its trip, Athena will also experience a solar eclipse, as Earth moves in front of the sun and blots out the light. 'We're going to get degraded power as we fly in the dark with no sun,' Altemus said, 'and when that happens, we'll have to turn off some extra equipment (to conserve power).' The spacecraft will separate from the rocket after reaching what's called a trans-lunar injection orbit, which is an elliptical path that extends about 236,000 miles (380,000 kilometers) above Earth. Athena will then light its own engines and nudge itself into the moon's gravitational well. After that milestone, Athena will deploy the smaller spacefaring vehicles that are hitching a ride on board the spacecraft. One is the NASA-made Lunar Trailblazer probe, which seeks to map the distribution of water on the surface as it orbits the moon. Another is a microwave-size spacecraft developed by California-based startup AstroForge that will continue into deep space in the hopes of scouting an asteroid for precious metals. About one week after launching from Florida, Athena will then make its final descent. The lander's destination is Mons Mouton — a plateau near the lunar south pole. And it's 'the closest landing site to the moon's south pole to date,' said Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, during a February 7 briefing about IM-2's science objectives. Mons Mouton also offers Athena 'the Goldilocks zone for sunlight,' Fox added. Though many areas of the lunar south pole are permanently in shadow — the precise locations where water ice may remain perpetually frozen — Mons Mouton offers enough sunlight to 'power a roughly 10-day mission while maintaining a clear view to Earth' to allow communication with the spacecraft, Fox said. Athena's landing site will be 'an extremely cold environment that we believe contains volatiles — which are chemical substances that can easily change from a liquid, to a solid, to a gas,' Fox said. 'These volatiles may contain trapped water ice.' But safely arriving at this destination will be a challenge. The areas closest to the moon's south pole are pockmarked with impact craters, making it difficult to find a patch of flat, even terrain that's safe for landing. 'IM-2 has to be a lot more accurate than IM-1,' said Intuitive Machines' navigation lead, Mike Hansen, during a company podcast interview last year. 'So, IM-1 we could get away with about a kilometer footprint. IM-2 is down to 50 meters (164 feet).' What Athena will do Altemus said the company is targeting March 6 for touchdown. Then, the real work begins. Immediately, 'we'll begin the campaign to drill into the surface, and we'll try to get 10 drill cycles (and we'll) go 10 centimeters at a time, all the way to a meter (3.3 feet) depth,' Altemus said, describing how NASA's water-hunting drill, called Prime-1, will operate. The tiny robotic Micro Nova Hopper on board IM-2 — developed by Intuitive Machines — will pop off the Athena lander. Named Grace after the late pioneer of software engineering Grace Murray Hopper, the diminutive craft will conduct several hops that reach up to 50 meters (164 feet) in the air before diving into a nearby crater that lives in permanent shadow. There, the robot will attempt to detect ice before hopping back out of the crater and transmitting data back home. A four-wheeled, microwave-size rover developed by Lunar Outpost will also roll out from Athena, packed with its own instruments and experimental technology. The robotic explorer will even carry a smaller, matchbook-size rover, called AstroAnt. The Lunar Outpost rover and Grace hopper will also each test out the use of cellular network on the moon as part of a NASA-sponsored experiment spearheaded by Nokia. All told, the IM-2 Athena lander is expected to operate for about 10 days on the moon. 'It's gonna be very dynamic, and a busy schedule,' Altemus said.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
SpaceX launch sends ice hunters to the moon
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A SpaceX launch Wednesday night sent both a lander and an orbiter on their way to the moon, both on the hunt for ice. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Intuitive Machines Nova-C lunar lander Athena on the IM-2 mission and the Lockheed Martin-built Lunar Trailblazer satellite for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory lifted off from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A at 7:17 p.m. Eastern time. Athena's main payload is NASA's PRIME-1 drill, which stands for Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment 1. It will burrow into the lunar south pole, pulling up lunar regolith from as deep as 3 feet, and analyze it for volatiles, which are substances that can evaporate, such as carbon dioxide or frozen water. Meanwhile, the Lunar Trailblazer is geared up to orbit the moon's north and south poles for about 20 months taking closer looks at previously detected ice deposits. 'We're looking for water and other volatiles,' said Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. 'As we are preparing to send our astronauts back to the lunar surface and to have a sustained presence there, and then eventually on to humanity's next frontier, which is Mars.' She said before any humans arrive, it's NASA's job to catalog all of the resources on site 'and enact the lessons learned from the Apollo era to ensure safety and also to advance our scientific discoveries and technological innovation.' Also along for the ride, and headed out beyond the moon, is commercial company AstroForge's Odin spacecraft, which is headed for a near-Earth asteroid named 2022 OB5. The final payload is the Sherpa-ES Go Beyond orbital transfer vehicle. Athena is the second lunar lander for Houston-based Intuitive Machines. The first named Odysseus managed the first commercial landing in history in 2024 on the IM-1 mission, although it tipped partially after one of its landing legs was damaged as it hit the surface. Both IM-1 and IM-2 have been partially funded with funds from NASA's Commercial Lunar Services Program, or CLPS. The program looks to make NASA a customer of what it hopes will be a sustainable lunar economy. It paid Intuitive Machines $62.5 million to carry up the PRIME-1 drill and several other NASA experiments, while the company was able to line up other companies for more payloads to offset costs. The companies have to line up a launch provider, build the lander and run all the mission communication. Athena's landing attempt will come on March 6, only four days after another CLPS mission, Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost, attempts its landing, which is targeting early Sunday morning. Athena will be within five degrees from the lunar south pole. 'It is a scientifically strategic location that will return exciting data because of its origin,' Fox said, noting it's 20,000 feet higher than neighboring features and one that has been untouched by lunar impacts for billions of years. She said the space had a huge ring of craters around the base and cliff-like edges that descend into areas of permanent darkness. It also is a hilltop with smaller rocks and craters frequently blankets in freezing, shifting shadows. 'We hope that that's going to provide opportunities for extraordinary science in extraordinary places,' she said. A third lander from ispace Japan, not affiliated with NASA, is also on its way to the moon, but not arriving for several more months. For Intuitive Machines, the company embraces the complexity of what it hopes will be a second landing, and one without tipping, said CEO Stephen Altemus. 'We want to repeat a successful launch and soft landing on the moon,' he said. 'We can do that two times in a row a year apart, says something in a fixed-price contract environment.' To offset costs, the lander in addition to the PRIME-1 drill and six other NASA CLPS payloads, it also has payloads from Lonestar Data Holdings, Columbia Sportswear, Nokia, Lunar Outpost, Puli Space, Dymon Co. Ltd., and the German Aerospace Center. Some of those mark vanguard industry moments as well, he said. 'Once we touch down, we deploy a rover that tests cellular signals. We have a hopper that blasts off the side of the lander and hops into a permanently shadowed crater, which has never been done before,' he said. The complexity of the mission will also be the first at the south pole. 'It's really exciting all of it, to be able to say the first objective from the first mission was, really, can you get to the moon? Can you really do this at this such a low cost in such a short amount of time?' he said. 'Then what we did was we made such a complicated mission for the second one. Take on more objectives. Try harder, try to do something more amazing, right? And, you know, to be here at the pad ready to go, it's just feels great.' The Athena lander will be active until the lunar sunset on March 16 and the lander loses communication with the Earth and Athena won't be able to endure the cold of the lunar night. While Athena is busy on the surface, Lunar Trailblazer will be right behind, but take several months to set up its orbital mission, which was chosen in 2019 under NASA's Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program. While managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lockheed Martin built the spacecraft on which NASA's imaging spectrometer and thermal mapper will be getting to work. Lockheed's Tim Priser, the chief engineer for the company's commercial line of business, said the mission is one of the stepping stones for a bigger lunar exploration campaign, including trying to put a power grid on the moon. 'Before we can go put things like infrastructure on the moon, it's going to be very important to understand where the water is, not just for life support for humans, but also in-situ manufacturing of whatever you can imagine,' he said. 'But primarily, I think rocket fuel.' To that end, Lunar Trailblazer's job is to 'go figure out where all that water is, how much of it is there, what the form of the water is, so that we can enable those future missions and start to build that infrastructure.' ---------
