NASA ETF Jumps Nearly 20% Since Launch Alongside Artemis II Mission – ASTS, PL, LUNR Drive Gains

• The Tema Space Innovators ETF has gained roughly 17.5% since its April 1 debut, which coincided with the launch of the Artemis II mission. 
• TEMA ETFs CIO Yuri Khodjamirian told Stocktwits that the fund’s 10% to 15% allocation to SpaceX, through private-market exposure, sets it apart from the competition.
• He added that the portfolio’s construction focuses on “pure play” space companies across launch, satellite, and infrastructure segments, such as RKLB, LUNR, PL, and ASTS.

The space economy exchange-traded fund (ETF) that launched on the same day as the Artemis II mission has gained nearly 20%, while the astronauts completed their 10-day test flight around the Moon. 

“We can kind of say it was a fortuitous kind of coincidence that it happened at the same time,” Yuri Khodjamirian, the chief investment officer at TEMA ETFs and portfolio manager of the brand-new Tema Space Innovators ETF (NASA), told Stocktwits in an exclusive interview. 

NASA’s price edged 0.9% lower in midday trade on Friday amid weakness in the broader market, ahead of the Artemis crew’s splashdown scheduled for later in the evening. The fund has gained 17.5% since its April 1 debut on the NYSE Arca. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around NASA trended in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day. 

SpaceX In Space ETF Is Like Nvidia In A Semiconductor ETF

Khodjamirian said NASA’s active structure and SpaceX exposure differentiate it from index‑based alternatives. He explained that Tema is treating SpaceX like Nvidia (NVDA) in the semiconductor space.

“For us, it just felt wrong to have a space ETF without SpaceX in it. It's like having a semiconductor ETF without Nvidia. It just doesn't sort of make sense for investors,” Khodjamirian stated.

According to him, the inclusion of SpaceX keeps the ETF highly concentrated yet diversified across launch, satellite‑comms, and global supply‑chain names in Europe, Asia, and North America. 

NASA ETF Focuses on ‘Pure Play’ Space Stocks 

He said that the NASA ETF is built to capture the “full stack” of the space economy, not just headlines. In addition to its 10% to 15% private stake in SpaceX, NASA is also overweight in “pure‑play” satellite and launch names such as AST SpaceMobile (ASTS), Rocket Lab (RKLB), Planet Labs (PL), and Intuitive Machines (LUNR), which together reflect the broader theme’s momentum. 

LUNR’s stock led gains among the cohort in midday trade on Friday, rising over 3%. The shares have gained nearly 20% this month. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the space exploration, infrastructure, and services company trended in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day. 

Intuitive Machines was chosen to support and monitor Artemis II via Space Data and ground services, and NASA also awarded it a Near Space Network contract for lunar mission communications/navigation support.

Retail sentiment around Rocket Labs and Planet Labs also trended in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day. RKLB’s stock edged 0.7% higher, clocking gains of nearly 3% this month. The company develops rocket launch and control systems for the space and defense industries. Planet Labs’ stock price moved 0.6% higher and has gained nearly 20% in April.

ASTS’ stock, on the other hand, saw retail sentiment trending in ‘bullish’ territory over the past day, accompanied by chatter at ‘high’ levels on Stocktwits. The shares gained 1.6% in midday trade on Friday, and have shot up by over 10% since April 1. 

Rival space ETF Procure Space (UFO) has gained about 28% year-to-date, powered by ASTS’ stock gains of nearly 290% over the past 12 months and RKLB’s shares soaring nearly 240%.

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