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Intuitive Machines’ Lunar Mission Concludes with Setback

Key Takeaways

Intuitive Machines’ lunar spacecraft faced challenges during its landing attempt, resulting in a problematic conclusion to the mission. The IM-2 “Athena” landed off-target and suffered a rollover. This incident has led to a significant decline in the company’s stock value over recent trading sessions.

Shares of Intuitive Machines (LUNR) have seen a sharp decline for two consecutive trading days following the unsuccessful landing of its lunar lander, which has ultimately terminated the mission.

The firm reported that the IM-2 “Athena” landed approximately 250 meters (or 820 feet) away from its designated landing zone, finding itself positioned precariously in a crater. Images transmitted from the spacecraft illustrated that it came to rest on its side.

According to Intuitive Machines, several factors contributed to the issues faced during the landing, including the angle of sunlight, the alignment of the solar panels, and extremely cold weather conditions within the crater. As a result, the company has stated that it does not anticipate any recharging of the spacecraft’s systems, effectively marking the end of its mission.

Despite the setback, the company noted that while the spacecraft was functioning, ground control was able to achieve significant advancements in various programs and experiments, notably the NASA Prime Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) suite.

Intuitive Machines remarked that they are reviewing the transmitted data and emphasized that the findings from Athena’s mission to the Moon’s southern pole region will pave the way for further explorations in this area.

Even with the recent drop of 20% in stock price on consecutive trading days, shares of Intuitive Machines have appreciated by approximately 75% over the past year.

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