Odysseus, the first US spacecraft to land on the moon since 1972, has roughly 10 to 20 hours of battery life left, according to flight controllers who are still in contact with the robot lander.
Texas-based Intuitive Machines LUNR.O said on Tuesday its flight controllers were in touch with the Odysseus moon lander, and the spacecraft had relayed payload science data and imagery in the morning. NASA paid Intuitive $118 million to build and fly the spacecraft to the moon, carrying science instruments for the US space agency and several commercial customers.
The craft landed on Friday, but its timetable for seven to 10 days of operation was expected to be cut short after a sideways touchdown. The company is still working on the final determination of the battery life of the lander, Intuitive said.
Company’s shares drop
Shares of Intuitive Machines LUNR.O slumped 15% on Tuesday after the space exploration company’s lunar mission neared a premature end after a sideways touchdown hindered communications and solar charging capability of its moon lander Odysseus.
If losses hold, it would wipe out nearly all the gains Intuitive Machines from last week after the first US touchdown on the lunar surface in more than half a century and the first ever by the private sector.
The stock fell 35% on Monday, its worst drop in about a year after the company warned communications with Odysseus are expected to cease on Tuesday, just five days after it landed some 300 km from the moon’s south pole.
“The reaction to the stock …. that’s a bit of an overreaction by the market,” said Cantor Fitzgerald senior analyst Andres Sheppard, as Intuitive has collected more than 95% of their target revenue of $130 million from the mission.
The Nova-C lunar lander designed by aerospace company Intuitive Machines is displayed at the company’s headquarters in Houston, Texas, U.S., October 3, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/Evan Garcia/File Photo)
Only about 18% of Intuitive Machines’ outstanding shares are available to trade, according to LSEG data, making the stock that went public last year prone to high levels of volatility.
Intuitive had on Friday said Odysseus, which is carrying payloads for its main customer NASA, would have enough power to operate for nine to 10 days under a “best-case scenario.”
It is not clear yet as to how much scientific data might be lost due to the shortened length of the mission.
Some analysts said they see no impact of the issues faced over the past few days on the company’s next two missions and payloads scheduled later this year.
Intuitive has plans to use a Nova C lander, the same class as Odysseus for further missions. Its next mission, the IM-2, is set for launch later this year and will carry research tools to drill ice from below the moon’s surface.
