It’s been decades since the U.S. made moon missions a national priority. But thanks to Intuitive Machines (LUNR), lunar touchdowns are becoming front and center at NASA.
The company, however, has had a rough 2025.
The stock is down more than 57% year-to-date, weighed down by the broader selloff and the failed Athena mission, which made it to the moon, then tipped over and lost power due to blocked solar panels.
That marked the second time a lander from Intuitive Machines toppled after touchdown.
Intuitive Machines, in fact, has built a name for itself not just for landing on the moon but for tipping over once it gets there.
The first time, it got away with it. The second time, not so much.
The first “soft crash” happened in February 2024 when the Odysseus spacecraft made it to the surface but couldn’t stay upright.
Still, it managed to deliver its payload and transmit data, making it NASA’s first successful moon landing since 1972.
Despite the mixed results, NASA hasn’t pulled back. The agency has awarded Intuitive Machines additional contracts, signaling confidence in the company’s tech.
Not all investors share the same optimism. Building spacecraft that can’t stick the landing isn’t exactly a bullish story.
However, the space exploration industry is still small, and pretty much every space company had setbacks.
Even Elon Musk’s SpaceX suffered multiple launch failures before becoming a government contractor with a near-monopoly on U.S. space transport.
Now, Intuitive Machines and SpaceX are deepening their ties. The two already teamed up on previous NASA missions, and SpaceX was recently selected to launch Intuitive Machines’ next big project.
That mission — IM-4, a moon surface delivery scheduled for 2027 — will use SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
What about the numbers?
Space stocks often trade on hype. But in Intuitive Machines’ case, there’s more than just hope.
In Q4 of 2024, the company brought in $54.7 million in revenue — up 79% from the year before. Full-year revenue nearly tripled to $228 million, with a $328.3 million work backlog heading into 2025.
CEO Steve Altemus called it a “fortress-like balance sheet,” citing a $207.6 million cash position at year-end, a number that grew to $385 million by March.
For 2025, Intuitive Machines expects to generate $250 million to $300 million in revenue.
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