Intuitive Machines' highly anticipated lunar lander, Athena, has faced challenges during its recent attempt to touch down on the moon, leading to significant investor concern and sharp declines in the company's stock price.
On March 6, 2025, the Athena lander aimed for a landing site approximately 100 miles from the moon's south pole, as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. Unfortunately, upon approach, telemetry indicated issues with the lander's engine, which remained operational beyond the scheduled landing time—suggesting it was hovering rather than landing. Following these complications, Intuitive Machines confirmed via CEO Stephen Altemus during a press conference, "We don’t believe we're in the correct attitude on the surface of the moon, yet again." This raises alarming similarities to the fate of the company’s previous lunar mission.
The first attempt at lunar landing by Intuitive Machines was with the Odysseus lander nearly one year ago, which ended poorly when it toppled over due to faulty engineering components. This time, the Athena lander, equipped with 11 scientific payloads meant to examine lunar resources like water ice, seemed to replicate those troubles, with its health and orientation still unclear post-landing.
While the live stream of the landing concluded and the company announced Athena was successfully on the lunar surface and receiving solar power, reports surfaced indicating Altemus suspected the lander might not be upright. The distinct drop of over 20% seen during the trading day reflected investor reactions to the news and uncertainty surrounding the mission. By the afternoon, Intuitive Machines' stock plunged another 27% during after-hours trading, resulting in substantial losses for shareholders.
Despite these setbacks, Altemus confirmed the lander is still generating power, albeit not enough to operate all systems effectively. Athena is functioning well enough to transmit some data back to Earth, but it may not be able to perform its intended scientific functions.
The mission has historical significance as it continues the push for commercial participation in space exploration, aligning with NASA's vision to involve more private enterprises. The Athena lander was launched onboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket on February 26, 2025, marking another stride forward for Intuitive Machines following its earlier successes and failures.
Investor sentiment remains wary, reflecting the risks associated with private space exploration. With Thursday's fall, shares of Intuitive Machines have now shed about 38% of their value this year, even as the company’s stock had more than doubled over the preceding twelve months due to broad market enthusiasm about space ventures.
The Athena mission aims at exploring the lunar soil for resources, which is expected to be instrumental for future manned missions back to the moon, with the potential to extract materials necessary for oxygen and fuel. Other payloads aboard the lander include technology aimed at establishing the first cellular network on the moon, engineered to support future astronaut missions.
Although Intuitive Machines navigates through these apparent challenges reminiscent of last year’s Odysseus attempt, it simultaneously highlights the high-stakes environment of modern space exploration and the unpredictable nature of technological endeavors. While the uncertainty clouds the immediate outlook, the mission holds great promise for contributing to the lunar exploration prospects.
Experts speculate on the capability of Athena to recover operational functionality from its current situation and anticipate updates from Intuitive Machines following scheduled press briefings. The impact of such discrepancies on the broader commercial space sector could be significant, shaping expectations for future missions and investment strategies.
Overall, the outcome of the mission extends beyond Intuitive Machines—serving as part of NASA's larger Artemis program and demonstrating the imperative role of private companies aiming for the revival of lunar exploration.