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Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Intuitive Machines Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2024 Financial Results
HOUSTON, March 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intuitive Machines, Inc. (Nasdaq: LUNR, 'Intuitive Machines,' or the 'Company'), a leading space technology, infrastructure, and services company, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year ended December 31, 2024. Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus said, 'Just two years ago, we became a public company with a bold vision for the future. Over the past year, we've deliberately positioned ourselves for long-term success by expanding our technical capabilities, opening new revenue streams, and fortifying our financial position. Today, we stand stronger than ever— financially secure, debt-free, and ready to take the next leap.' Highlights Executed southernmost ever lunar landing on the South pole region of the Moon and accelerated payload operations for NASA's PRIME-1 drill suite, Nokia's Lunar Surface Communications System, Intuitive Machines' Micro Nova Hopper, and several commercial payloads including a data center and a Japanese micro-rover (Q1 2025) Awarded additional contracts for NASA's Near Space Network ('NSN') for Direct-to-Earth ('DTE') services to regions around the Moon and beyond the Moon Continued customer diversification through a contract to adapt our current technologies from our lunar delivery missions to create new capabilities, specifically an in-space orbital transfer vehicle 'OTV' for a government customer (Q1 2025) Completed an upsized $125 million offering of Class A common stock and concurrent private placement with Boryung Corporation, a leading South Korean pharmaceutical company and strategic investor and partner for critical infrastructure opportunities in space Reported record backlog of $328.3 million, a 22% increase year-over-year and the highest quarter-ending backlog in Company history Achieved $54.7 million of revenue in Q4, up 79% year-over-year; $228.0 million for the year, nearly three times 2023 revenue Continued drive towards profitability with positive gross margin in Q4 and full year, our second consecutive quarter of positive gross margin Ended 2024 with $207.6 million in cash; as of March 10th our cash balance was $385 million following the completion of the warrant redemption process, streamlining the Company's capital structure while substantially reducing the overhang from derivative securities Mr. Altemus continued, 'Now, with a fortress-like balance sheet, we're seeking the highest-return opportunities, whether that's through internal innovation or strategic acquisitions. Our proven technologies and expertise are propelling us beyond NASA and cislunar space, expanding our reach into new markets and customers. This year is not just about growth—it's about defining the future of our company and the industry itself.' 2025 Outlook Full-year 2025 revenue outlook of $250 - $300 million Positive run-rate Adjusted EBITDA by the end of 2025; positive Adjusted EBITDA in 2026 Conference Call Information Intuitive Machines will host a conference call today, March 24, 2025, at 8:30 am Eastern Time to discuss these results. A link to the live webcast of the earnings conference call will be made available on the investors portion of the Intuitive Machines' website at Following the conference call, a webcast replay will be available through the same link on the investors portion of the Intuitive Machines' website at Key Business Metrics and Non-GAAP Financial Measures In addition to the GAAP financial measures set forth in this press release, the Company has included certain financial measures that have not been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ('GAAP') and constitute 'non-GAAP financial measures' as defined by the SEC. This includes adjusted EBITDA ('Adjusted EBITDA'). Adjusted EBITDA is a key performance measure that our management team uses to assess the Company's operating performance and is calculated as net income (loss) excluding results from non-operating sources including interest income, interest expense, gain on extinguishing of debt, share based compensation, change in fair value instruments, depreciation, and provision for income taxes. Intuitive Machines has included Adjusted EBITDA because we believe it is helpful in highlighting trends in the Company's operating results and because it is frequently used by analysts, investors, and other interested parties to evaluate companies in our industry. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical measure, and investors should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the Company's results as reported under GAAP. Other companies, including companies in Intuitive Machines' industry, may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure. Because of these limitations, you should consider Adjusted EBITDA alongside other financial performance measures, including various cash flow metrics, net income (loss) and our other GAAP results. A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is included below under the heading 'Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measure.' We define free cash flow as net cash (used in) provided by operating activities less purchases of property and equipment. We believe that free cash flow is a meaningful indicator of liquidity that provides information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated from operations that, after purchases of property and equipment, can be used for strategic initiatives, including continuous investment in our business and strengthening our balance sheet. Free Cash Flow has limitations as a liquidity measure, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our cash flows as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:Free Cash Flow is not a measure calculated in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP; Free Cash Flow may not be comparable to similarly titled metrics of other companies due to differences among methods of calculation; and Free Cash Flow may be affected in the near to medium term by the timing of capital investments, fluctuations in our growth and the effect of such fluctuations on working capital and changes in our cash conversion cycle. A reconciliation of Free Cash Flow to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is included below under the heading 'Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measure.' The Company has also included contracted backlog, which is defined as the total estimate of the revenue the Company expects to realize in the future as a result of performing work on awarded contracts, less the amount of revenue the Company has previously recognized. Intuitive Machines monitors its backlog because we believe it is a forward-looking indicator of potential sales which can be helpful to investors in evaluating the performance of its business and identifying trends over time. About Intuitive Machines Intuitive Machines is a diversified space technology, infrastructure, and services company focused on fundamentally disrupting lunar access economics. In 2024, Intuitive Machines successfully soft-landed the Company's Nova-C class lunar lander, on the Moon, returning the United States to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. In 2025, Intuitive Machines returned to the lunar south pole with a second lander. The Company's products and services are focused through three pillars of space commercialization: Delivery Services, Data Transmission Services, and Infrastructure as a Service. For more information, please visit Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words such as 'anticipate,' 'believe,' 'continue,' 'could,' 'estimate,' 'expect,' 'intend,' 'may,' 'might,' 'plan,' 'possible,' 'potential,' 'predict,' 'project,' 'should,' 'strive,' 'would,' 'strategy,' 'outlook,' the negative of these words or other similar expressions, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements regarding: our expectations and plans relating to our missions to the Moon, including the expected timing of launch and our progress in preparation thereof; our expectations with respect to, among other things, demand for our product portfolio, our submission of bids for contracts including LTV, NSNS and CP-22; our expectations regarding revenue for government contracts awarded to us; our operations, our financial performance and our industry; our business strategy, business plan, and plans to drive long-term sustainable shareholder value; our expectations on revenue generation. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's predictions, projections, or expectations based upon currently available information and data. Our actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward looking statements. The following important factors and uncertainties, among others, could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements in this presentation: our reliance upon the efforts of our Board and key personnel to be successful; our limited operating history; our failure to manage our growth effectively; competition from existing or new companies; unsatisfactory safety performance of our spaceflight systems or security incidents at our facilities; failure of the market for commercial spaceflight to achieve the growth potential we expect; any delayed launches, launch failures, failure of our satellites or lunar landers to reach their planned orbital locations, significant increases in the costs related to launches of satellites and lunar landers, and insufficient capacity available from satellite and lunar lander launch providers; our customer concentration; risks associated with commercial spaceflight, including any accident on launch or during the journey into space; risks associated with the handling, production and disposition of potentially explosive and ignitable energetic materials and other dangerous chemicals in our operations; our reliance on a limited number of suppliers for certain materials and supplied components; failure of our products to operate in the expected manner or defects in our products; counterparty risks on contracts entered into with our customers and failure of our prime contractors to maintain their relationships with their counterparties and fulfill their contractual obligations; failure to successfully defend protest from other bidders for government contracts; failure to comply with various laws and regulations relating to various aspects of our business and any changes in the funding levels of various governmental entities with which we do business; our failure to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets and know how; our failure to comply with the terms of third-party open source software our systems utilize; our ability to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, and to address and remediate material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting; the U.S. government's budget deficit and the national debt, as well as any inability of the U.S. government to complete its budget process for any government fiscal year, and our dependence on U.S. government contracts and funding by the government for the government contracts; our failure to comply with U.S. export and import control laws and regulations and U.S. economic sanctions and trade control laws and regulations; uncertain global macro-economic and political conditions (including as a result of a failure to raise the 'debt ceiling') and rising inflation; our history of losses and failure to achieve profitability and our need for substantial additional capital to fund our operations; the fact that our financial results may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter; our holding company status; the risk that our business and operations could be significantly affected if it becomes subject to any securities litigation or stockholder activism; our public securities' potential liquidity and trading; and other public filings and press releases other factors detailed under the section titled Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors of our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC'), the section titled Part I, Item 2, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and the section titled Part II. Item 1A. 'Risk Factors' in our most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and in our subsequent filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC's website at and the Investors section of our website at These forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this press release and current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks, and uncertainties. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Contacts For investor inquiries:investors@ For media inquiries:press@ INTUITIVE MACHINES, Balance Sheets(In thousands)(Unaudited) December 31,2024 December 31,2023 ASSETS Current assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 207,607 $ 4,498 Restricted cash 2,042 62 Trade accounts receivable 44,759 16,881 Contract assets 34,592 7,126 Prepaid and other current assets 4,161 3,044 Total current assets 293,161 31,611 Property and equipment, net 23,364 18,349 Operating lease right-of-use assets 38,765 35,853 Finance lease right-of-use assets 114 95 Total assets $ 355,404 $ 85,908 LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE EQUITY AND SHAREHOLDERS' DEFICIT Current liabilities Accounts payable and accrued expenses $ 17,350 $ 16,771 Accounts payable - affiliated companies 2,750 5,786 Current maturities of long-term debt — 8,000 Contract liabilities, current 65,184 41,371 Operating lease liabilities, current 2,021 4,833 Finance lease liabilities, current 37 25 Other current liabilities 11,489 4,747 Total current liabilities 98,831 81,533 Contract liabilities, non-current 14,334 — Operating lease liabilities, non-current 35,259 30,550 Finance lease liabilities, non-current 63 67 Earn-out liabilities 134,156 14,032 Warrant liabilities 68,778 11,294 Other long-term liabilities 62 4 Total liabilities 351,483 137,480 Commitments and contingencies MEZZANINE EQUITY Series A preferred stock subject to possible redemption 5,990 28,201 Redeemable noncontrolling interests 1,005,965 181,662 SHAREHOLDERS' DEFICIT Class A common stock 10 2 Class B common stock — — Class C common stock 6 7 Treasury Stock (12,825 ) (12,825 ) Paid-in capital — — Accumulated deficit (996,453 ) (248,619 ) Total shareholders' deficit attributable to the Company (1,009,262 ) (261,435 ) Noncontrolling interests 1,228 — Total shareholders' deficit (1,008,034 ) (261,435 ) Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders' deficit $ 355,404 $ 85,908 INTUITIVE MACHINES, Statements of Operations(In thousands)(Unaudited) Three Months Ended December 31, Year Ended December 31, 2024 20231 20241 20231 Revenue $ 54,662 $ 30,591 $ 228,000 $ 79,551 Operating expenses: Cost of revenue (excluding depreciation) 46,228 27,356 190,369 101,044 Cost of revenue (excluding depreciation) - affiliated companies 7,755 2,949 34,862 2,949 Depreciation 540 432 1,859 1,376 Impairment of property and equipment — 964 5,044 964 General and administrative expense (excluding depreciation) 13,536 6,381 53,262 34,337 Total operating expenses 68,059 38,082 285,396 140,670 Operating loss (13,397 ) (7,491 ) (57,396 ) (61,119 ) Other income (expense), net: Interest income (expense), net 149 (42 ) 180 (823 ) Change in fair value of earn-out liabilities (86,308 ) 5,186 (120,124 ) 66,252 Change in fair value of warrant liabilities (41,010 ) 5,176 (77,651 ) 15,435 Change in fair value of SAFE Agreements — — — (2,353 ) Loss on issuance of securities (25,056 ) — (93,136 ) (6,729 ) Other income (expense), net 474 (104 ) 1,242 (483 ) Total other income (expense), net (151,751 ) 10,216 (289,489 ) 71,299 Income (loss) before income taxes (165,148 ) 2,725 (346,885 ) 10,180 Income tax expense 13 252 (37 ) (40 ) Net income (loss) (165,135 ) 2,977 (346,922 ) 10,140 Net loss attributable to Intuitive Machines, LLC prior to the Business Combination — — — (6,481 ) Net income (loss) (post Business Combination) (165,135 ) 2,977 (346,922 ) 16,621 Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest (17,003 ) (5,450 ) (67,004 ) (45,141 ) Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest 1,066 — 3,495 — Net income (loss) attributable to the Company (149,198 ) 8,427 (283,413 ) 61,762 Less: Preferred dividends (145 ) (686 ) (896 ) (2,343 ) Net income (loss) attributable to Class A common shareholders $ (149,343 ) $ 7,741 $ (284,309 ) $ 59,419 ________________________1 Reflects immaterial, non-cash corrections primarily related to historical estimated contract losses on certain lunar payload services contracts; see our December 31, 2024 Form 10-K for further MACHINES, Statements of Cash Flows(In thousands)(Unaudited) Year Ended December 31, 2024 2023 Cash flows from operating activities: Net income (loss) $ (346,922 ) $ 10,140 Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities: Depreciation 1,859 1,376 Bad debt expense (recovery) 440 (836 ) Impairment of property and equipment 5,044 964 Share-based compensation expense 8,798 4,273 Change in fair value of SAFE Agreements — 2,353 Change in fair value of earn-out liabilities 120,124 (66,252 ) Change in fair value of warrant liabilities 77,651 (15,435 ) Loss on issuance of securities 93,136 6,729 Deferred income taxes — 7 Other 58 43 Changes in operating assets and liabilities: Trade accounts receivable, net (28,319 ) (14,743 ) Contract assets (28,102 ) 490 Prepaid expenses (481 ) (1,435 ) Other assets, net 1,334 1,165 Accounts payable and accrued expenses (1,228 ) 14,091 Accounts payable – affiliated companies (3,036 ) 4,441 Contract liabilities – current and long-term 38,147 (9,841 ) Other liabilities 3,910 17,191 Net cash used in operating activities (57,587 ) (45,279 ) Cash flows from investing activities: Purchase of property and equipment (10,111 ) (29,911 ) Net cash used in investing activities (10,111 ) (29,911 ) Cash flows from financing activities: Proceeds from Business Combination — 8,055 Proceeds from issuance of Series A Preferred Stock — 26,000 Transaction costs (9,370 ) (9,371 ) Proceeds from borrowings 10,000 — Repayment of loans (18,000 ) (12,000 ) Proceeds from issuance of securities 233,392 20,000 Member distributions — (7,952 ) Stock option exercises 300 — Forward purchase agreement termination — 12,730 Warrants exercised 61,261 16,124 Contributions from (distributions to) noncontrolling interests (2,267 ) 686 Payment of withholding taxes from share-based awards (2,529 ) (348 ) Net cash provided by financing activities 272,787 53,924 Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 205,089 (21,266 ) Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of the period 4,560 25,826 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of the period 209,649 4,560 Less: restricted cash 2,042 62 Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period $ 207,607 $ 4,498 INTUITIVE MACHINES, of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measure Adjusted EBITDA The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA. Three Months Ended December 31, Year Ended December 31, (in thousands) 2024 2023 2024 2023 Net income (loss) $ (165,135 ) $ 2,977 $ (346,922 ) $ 10,140 Adjusted to exclude the following: Income tax expense (13 ) (252 ) 37 40 Depreciation 540 432 1,859 1,376 Impairment on property and equipment — 964 5,044 964 Interest (income) expense, net (149 ) 42 (180 ) 823 Share-based compensation expense 1,618 1,525 8,798 4,273 Change in fair value of earn-out liabilities 86,308 (5,186 ) 120,124 (66,252 ) Change in fair value of warrant liabilities 41,010 (5,176 ) 77,651 (15,435 ) Change in fair value of SAFE Agreements — — — 2,353 Loss on issuance of securities 25,056 — 93,136 6,729 Other (income) expense, net (474 ) 104 (1,242 ) 483 Adjusted EBITDA $ (11,239 ) $ (4,570 ) $ (41,695 ) $ (54,506 ) Free Cash Flow We define free cash flow as net cash (used in) provided by operating activities less purchases of property and equipment. We believe that free cash flow is a meaningful indicator of liquidity that provides information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated from operations that, after purchases of property and equipment, can be used for strategic initiatives, including continuous investment in our business and strengthening our balance sheet. Free Cash Flow has limitations as a liquidity measure, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our cash flows as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are: Free Cash Flow is not a measure calculated in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Free Cash Flow may not be comparable to similarly titled metrics of other companies due to differences among methods of calculation. Free Cash Flow may be affected in the near to medium term by the timing of capital investments, fluctuations in our growth and the effect of such fluctuations on working capital and changes in our cash conversion cycle. The following table presents a reconciliation of net cash used in operating activities, the most directly comparable financial measure presented in accordance with GAAP, to free cash flow: Year Ended December 31, (in thousands) 2024 2023 Net cash used in operating activities (57,587 ) (45,279 ) Purchases of property and equipment (10,111 ) (29,911 ) Free cash flow (67,698 ) (75,190 ) Backlog The following table presents our backlog as of the periods indicated: (in thousands) December 31, 2024 December 31, 2023 Backlog $ 328,345 $ 268,566 Backlog increased by $59.8 million as of December 31, 2024 compared to December 31, 2023, due to $303.7 million in new awards primarily associated with the IM-4 CLPS, NSN, and LTV contracts awarded from NASA, and task order modifications to the existing IM-2 CLPS, IM-3 CLPS and OMES III contracts. These increases are partially offset by continued performance on existing contracts of $228.0 million and decreases related to contract value adjustments of $15.9 million mostly related to various fixed price contracts. This press release was published by a CLEAR® Verified in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Intuitive Machines does not expect Athena to recharge, says mission concluded
Intuitive Machines (LUNR) has announced the IM-2 mission lunar lander, Athena, landed 250 meters from its intended landing site in the Mons Mouton region of the lunar south pole, inside of a crater. 'This was the southernmost lunar landing and surface operations ever achieved. Images downlinked from Athena on the lunar surface confirmed that Athena was on her side. After landing, mission controllers were able to accelerate several program and payload milestones, including NASA's PRIME-1 suite, before the lander's batteries depleted. With the direction of the sun, the orientation of the solar panels, and extreme cold temperatures in the crater, Intuitive Machines does not expect Athena to recharge. The mission has concluded and teams are continuing to assess the data collected throughout the mission. This southern pole region is lit by harsh sun angles and limited direct communication with the Earth. This area has been avoided due to its rugged terrain and Intuitive Machines believes the insights and achievements from IM-2 will open this region for further space exploration,' the company stated. Effectively assess a stock's risks and opportunities with a clear breakdown of its positive and negative factors. Uncover insightful assessments of a stock's market performance and potential with a comprehensive competitor analysis . Published first on TheFly – the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>> See Insiders' Hot Stocks on TipRanks >> Read More on LUNR: Unusually active option classes on open March 7th Morning Movers: Walgreens up after go-private deal, Broadcom jumps on earnings Intuitive Machines lands on moon, orientation unknown, says Cantor Fitzgerald Intuitive Machines price target lowered to $22 from $26 at Canaccord Roth MKM in waiting mode after challenged Intuitive Machines mission
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Intuitive Machines Stock Is Plummeting Today
The stock of Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) is seeing intense sell-offs in Friday's trading. The lunar-lander company's share price was down 24.1% as of 1:15 p.m. ET today and had been down as much as 37.4% earlier in the day's trading. Intuitive Machines' valuation is under intense pressure due to the status of the company's latest lunar lander. The Athena was confirmed to have made it to the moon yesterday, but its mission did not go as planned. The company released a statement today announcing that its Athena lunar lander had touched down 250 meters (about 270 yards) from its intended landing point. It landed on its side within a crater, and Intuitive Machines said that its orientation and location mean that onboard solar panels will not be able to recharge the craft's batteries. The company said that it was able to accelerate and operate several of Athena's mission payloads, including NASA's PRIME-1 instruments for extracting and analyzing lunar soil. Unfortunately, the landing situation may mean that other key commercial payloads included in the mission were not able to work before the batteries were depleted. While Intuitive Machines says that insights and achievements from the mission will help open the door for future exploration of that region of the moon, Athena's landing and subsequent loss of operations represent a significant setback for the company. Putting landers on the moon is no easy task, and it's reasonable to expect that there will be some significant bumps in the road with space-based tech initiatives. The mission's challenges could continue to have a major impact on sentiment surrounding the stock in the near term. 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 Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $677,631!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 822% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 166% 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 March 3, 2025 Keith Noonan 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. Why Intuitive Machines Stock Is Plummeting Today was originally published by The Motley Fool
CNN
07-03-2025
- Science
- CNN
Intuitive Machines' Athena moon lander mission ends prematurely
Intuitive Machines, the Houston-based company that was set to deliver a historic water-hunting mission to the moon's south pole, announced Friday that its Athena lander has powered down just one day after arriving at the lunar surface. Athena was expected to operate for about 10 days before powering down as lunar night fell over the spacecraft's landing site at Mons Mouton, a plateau that lies about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the south pole. But photographs delivered by the lander before it powered down confirmed the vehicle is lying on its side. 'With the direction of the sun, the orientation of the solar panels, and extreme cold temperatures in the crater, Intuitive Machines does not expect Athena to recharge,' the company said in a statement. 'The mission has concluded and teams are continuing to assess the data collected throughout the mission.' Intuitive Machines, however, highlighted that, although Athena did not operate as intended, the lander was able to briefly operate and transmit data after touchdown. That made the mission the 'southernmost lunar landing and surface operations ever achieved.' Intuitive Machines also said that Athena was 'able to accelerate several program and payload milestones, including NASA's PRIME-1 suite, before the lander's batteries depleted.' PRIME-1, which includes a drill that was expected to dig into the lunar surface to hunt for water, was able to move, according to a statement from NASA that states the device 'demonstrated the hardware's full range of motion in the harsh environment of space.' Sensors on board PRIME-1, which were designed to analyze lunar soil for signs of water ice, also turned on and detected 'elements likely due to the gases emitted from the lander's propulsion system,' NASA said. 'Empowering American companies to deliver science and tech to the Moon on behalf of NASA both produces scientific results and continues development of a lunar economy,' said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for Exploration in the Science Mission Directorate, in a statement. 'While we're disappointed in the outcome of the IM-2 mission, we remain committed to supporting our commercial vendors as they navigate the very difficult task of landing and operating on the Moon.' The company did not specifically address other payloads that were on board the Athena lander. But Colorado-based Lunar Outpost, which provided a four-wheeled rover that had been expected to drive off the lander about six hours after Thursday's touchdown, said in a post on social media platform X that it was not able to deploy. Some of the science and tech instruments onboard Athena were able to operate during transit to the moon and in lunar orbit before yesterday's touchdown, said NASA and Intuitive Machines officials at a Thursday news conference. Tim Crain, Intuitive Machines' chief technology officer, highlighted that Athena captured close-up images of the moon's south pole region, calling them an exciting development that will aid scientists' understanding of this crater-ridden area of the moon. Moon landing challenges Athena's premature shutdown is reminiscent of Intuitive Machines' last lunar mission, which put a lander named Odysseus in the same pockmarked south pole region in February 2024. Odysseus also landed on its side but was able to operate for about six days, though its antennae were pointing in an inopportune direction, making it difficult to collect large quantities of data. The company also revealed Friday that it was able to determine Athena touched down about 820 feet (250 meters) from its intended landing site. At a Thursday news conference about Athena's status, Intuitive Machines officials had said only that the vehicle's exact landing site was unknown, but it likely did not land within a 164-foot-wide (50-meter) zone the company had been targeting. Intuitive Machines developed the Athena lunar lander as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, under which the agency doles out relatively cheap fixed-price contracts to private sector companies in an effort to spur innovation and drive down the cost of getting robotic exploration vehicles to the moon. At Thursday's news conference, Nicky Fox, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, was asked about this approach and whether NASA was rethinking its commitment to low-cost missions. In her response, Fox noted that NASA has numerous science and exploration missions in the works — including the Blue Ghost lunar lander from Cedar Park, Texas-based company Firefly Aerospace. The robotic explorer is operating near the moon's equator after a successful touchdown on March 2. 'We get together and we celebrate one another's successes and we empathize with the challenges,' Fox said. Intuitive Machines will carefully analyze data from Athena over the next 30 days in a process referred to as a 'hot wash,' the company's CEO Steve Altemus said Thursday. 'We prepare a set of recommendations for what went well, what went wrong, what needs to be fixed for the next mission,' Altemus said. The company was planning to launch a third landing mission, called IM-3, about a year from now. But Altemus suggested that may change as the company pursues a contract for satellites that can relay data from the moon.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Science
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Intuitive Machines' Athena lunar landing mission concludes after one day due to wayward landing
Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Intuitive Machines, the Houston-based company that was set to deliver a historic water-hunting mission to the moon's south pole, announced Friday that its Athena lander has powered down just one day after arriving at the lunar surface. Athena was expected to operate for about 10 days before powering down as lunar night fell over the spacecraft's landing site at Mons Mouton, a plateau that lies about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the south pole. But photographs delivered by the lander before it powered down confirmed the vehicle is lying on its side. 'With the direction of the sun, the orientation of the solar panels, and extreme cold temperatures in the crater, Intuitive Machines does not expect Athena to recharge,' the company said in a statement. 'The mission has concluded and teams are continuing to assess the data collected throughout the mission.' Intuitive Machines, however, highlighted that, although Athena did not operate as intended, the lander was able to briefly operate and transmit data after touchdown. That made the mission the 'southernmost lunar landing and surface operations ever achieved.' Intuitive Machines also said that Athena was 'able to accelerate several program and payload milestones, including NASA's PRIME-1 suite, before the lander's batteries depleted.' It's unclear whether that means PRIME-1, which is a drill that was expected to dig into the lunar surface to hunt for water, was able to operate, collect data, or use its sensors to analyze the soil. The company did not specifically address other payloads that were on board the Athena lander. But Colorado-based Lunar Outpost, which provided a four-wheeled rover that had been expected to drive off the lander about six hours after Thursday's touchdown, said in a post on social media platform X that it was not able to deploy. Some of the science and tech instruments onboard Athena were able to operate during transit to the moon and in lunar orbit before yesterday's touchdown, said NASA and Intuitive Machines officials at a Thursday news conference. Tim Crain, Intuitive Machines' chief technology officer, highlighted that Athena captured close-up images of the moon's south pole region, calling them an exciting development that will aid scientists' understanding of this crater-ridden area of the moon. Athena's premature shutdown is reminiscent of Intuitive Machines' last lunar mission, which put a lander named Odysseus in the same pockmarked south pole region in February 2024. Odysseus also landed on its side but was able to operate for about six days, though its antennae were pointing in an inopportune direction, making it difficult to collect large quantities of data. The company also revealed Friday that it was able to determine Athena touched down about 820 feet (250 meters) from its intended landing site. At a Thursday news conference about Athena's status, Intuitive Machines officials had said only that the vehicle's exact landing site was unknown, but it likely did not land within a 164-foot-wide (50-meter) zone the company had been targeting. Intuitive Machines developed the Athena lunar lander as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, under which the agency doles out relatively cheap fixed-price contracts to private sector companies in an effort to spur innovation and drive down the cost of getting robotic exploration vehicles to the moon. At Thursday's news conference, Nicky Fox, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, was asked about this approach and whether NASA was rethinking its commitment to low-cost missions. In her response, Fox noted that NASA has numerous science and exploration missions in the works — including the Blue Ghost lunar lander from Cedar Park, Texas-based company Firefly Aerospace. The robotic explorer is operating near the moon's equator after a successful touchdown on March 2. 'We get together and we celebrate one another's successes and we empathize with the challenges,' Fox said. Intuitive Machines will carefully analyze data from Athena over the next 30 days in a process referred to as a 'hot wash,' the company's CEO Steve Altemus said Thursday. 'We prepare a set of recommendations for what went well, what went wrong, what needs to be fixed for the next mission,' Altemus said. The company was planning to launch a third landing mission, called IM-3, about a year from now. But Altemus suggested that may change as the company pursues a contract for satellites that can relay data from the moon.
