Intuitive Machines shares tumble 30%

Its spacecraft tips over shortly after touching down on lunar surface a day earlier

WASHINGTON DC/ BENGALURU:

Shares of moon lander maker Intuitive Machines, tumbled 30% in extended trade, wiping out a Friday rally after the company said its spacecraft had tipped over shortly after touching down on the lunar surface a day earlier.

The stock of the first private company to successfully land on the moon nearly doubled from $4.98 before the Feb 15 launch to $9.59 as of Friday’s close. Friday’s late-day sell-off left it below $7.

Read Moon lander Odysseus tipped sideways on lunar surface but 'alive and well'

Still, the company said the spacecraft Odysseus is “alive and well” and engineers were sending commands to the vehicle, and NASA officials at a news conference praised the effort.

The first touchdown on the lunar surface by a US spacecraft in more than half a century enthused investors of fellow space startups, sending up shares of companies such as Astra Space, and Satellogic. They slipped between 0.5% and 2.8% in after-hours trading.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2024.

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