Shares of Intuitive Machines (LUNR) are up 20% on news that the space exploration company has landed a contract with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The Houston, Texas-based company has announced that NASA awarded it a $117 million U.S. contract to deliver six science and technology payloads to the Moon.
The contract is part of NASA’s ongoing efforts to contract out work to private companies such as
Intuitive Machines.
NASA currently uses privately held SpaceX, run by Elon Musk, to shuttle astronauts to-and-from the International Space Station (ISS).
Intuitive Machines successfully completed a mission to the Moon on behalf of NASA in February of this year, marking the first time the space agency had landed a spacecraft on the lunar surface in more than 50 years.
Owing primarily to its NASA contracts, Intuitive Machines is expected to generate sales of as much as $371 million U.S. in 2025.
Prior to today’s (Aug. 30) move higher, the stock of Intuitive Machines had risen 104% this year to trade at $4.82 U.S. per share.
However, the company’s stock is down 50% since it went public in February 2023, and, at under $5 per share, it is trading as a penny stock on the Nasdaq exchange.
