- The space agency said that it would now focus on building a Moon base in a phased manner.
- While Gateway itself was previously planned as a space station, Intuitive Machines was slated to ensure it can function as a reliable hub for deep space exploration through several key contracts and technical contributions.
- Shares of other space infrastructure companies Voyager Technologies and Rocket Lab also traded lower at the time of writing.
Shares of Intuitive Machines Inc (LUNR) fell 10% on Tuesday after space agency NASA announced that it is pausing plans to deploy a space station in lunar orbit.
NASA said it will pause Gateway, its program aimed at building a space station around the Moon, in its current form, and shift focus to infrastructure that enables sustained surface operations instead.
NASA’s Fresh Focus
The space agency said that it would now focus on building a Moon base in a phased manner. As part of the goal, it will begin to incorporate more commercially procured and reusable hardware to undertake frequent and affordable crewed missions to the lunar surface, initially targeting landings every six months, with the potential to increase cadence as capabilities increase.
While Gateway itself was previously planned as a space station, Intuitive Machines was slated to ensure it can function as a reliable hub for deep space exploration through several key contracts and technical contributions. In April 2024, NASA also selected the company as one of its prime contractors to determine the feasibility of developing and deploying a Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) on the Moon.
Shares of other space infrastructure companies Voyager Technologies (VOYG) and Rocket Lab (RKLB) traded 9% and 3% lower, respectively, at the time of writing.
Intuitive Lands New Contract
Separately, Intuitive announced on Tuesday that NASA has awarded it with a $180.4 million contract to deliver seven science and technology payloads to the Lunar South Pole region. This includes a next-generation lunar rover from Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company.
The company said that its Lunar landing system will be used to support the payload delivery.
How Did Stocktwits Users React?
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around LUNR stock stayed within the ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume rose from ‘high’ to ‘extremely high’ levels.
According to Stocktwits data, retail chatter around LUNR jumped 855% over the past 24 hours. Earlier this week, Stifel raised the price target on LUNR to $22 from $20, while noting that it likes the opportunity focused on lunar infrastructure and satellites but flagged that it continues to see risk on timing and the outcome of awards.
A Stocktwits user, meanwhile, highlighted the possibility of NASA’s pivot being a positive for Intuitive.
LUNR stock has gained about 98% over the past 12 months.
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