Intuitive Machines Stock Lifts Off After The Bell: What's Going On?

Intuitive Machines Inc (NASDAQ:LUNR) shares are rising in extended trading Wednesday after the company was awarded a Lunar Terrain Vehicle contract with NASA.

What To Know: NASA awarded Intuitive Machines $30 million as a prime contractor to complete a Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services Feasibility Assessment. 

Under the contract, Intuitive Machines will focus on creating a feasibility roadmap to develop and deploy a Lunar Terrain Vehicle on the moon using the company’s Nova-D cargo-class lunar lander.

“This procurement strategically aligns with the Company’s flight-proven capability to deliver payloads to the surface of the Moon under the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, further solidifying our position as a proven commercial contractor in lunar exploration,” said Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines.

“Our global team is on a path to provide essential lunar infrastructure services to NASA in a project that would allow the Company to retain ownership of the vehicle for commercial utilization during periods of non-NASA activity over approximately ten years of lunar surface activity.”

Intuitive Machines noted that its Moon Reusable Autonomous Crewed Exploration Rover (RACER) global team partners include AVL, Boeing, Michelin and Northrop Grumman. Those partners intend to provide a robust Lunar Terrain Vehicle design architecture with advanced power management, autonomous driving, communications and navigation systems for lunar exploration.

Intuitive Machines shares are up approximately 135% year-to-date. The stock rallied in anticipation of the company's IM-1 moon landing mission.

In February, Intuitive Machines became the first private company to land on the moon and brought the U.S. back to the moon for the first time since 1972.

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LUNR Price Action: Intuitive Machines shares were up 3.18% after-hours at $6.17 at the time of publication Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Courtesy of Intuitive Machines.