LUNR Shares Jump 8% After NASA Selects Intuitive Machines for Earth-Observation Mission

Key Facts

Intuitive Machines announced on November 3, 2026, that NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory selected it to provide the spacecraft platform and systems integration for the FALCON-RADAR Earth-observation mission. The selection places the company on a science mission related to weather and cloud monitoring, alongside its other space activities. 24/7 Wall St. reported that LUNR shares rose 8% to $10.63 in morning trading on the day of the announcement. That compared with the previous session’s close of $9.86 on November 2. The company’s announcement did not state a financial value for the selection or a direct revenue impact.

The radar is designed to detect light, shallow precipitation, as well as cloud dynamics at small scales. The company said the mission will add two-dimensional cloud context and enable observations of convection. The data are intended to support analysis of weather patterns and rain and snowfall. According to the company’s description of the radar’s design and objectives, this scientific scope gives the mission a role in monitoring fine-scale atmospheric phenomena. FALCON-RADAR is part of NASA’s Earth science efforts, rather than the lunar landing missions described by the company.

Intuitive Machines described the mission as its third to support NASA’s Earth science objectives in the past six months. It was preceded by the EAGLE-VSWIR and EDGE missions, according to the company’s statement. NASA selected the company on August 18, 2026, to provide the spacecraft platform, integration and solutions for the EAGLE-VSWIR mission. That mission was targeted for launch in 2028 and will use the IM 300 spacecraft to observe Earth’s surface biology and geology with a spectral instrument. This sequence places FALCON-RADAR among the Earth science missions the company announced over the same period.

The new mission comes as the company reported a record $1.8 billion backlog at the end of the second quarter of 2026. In results published on August 13, it said the value of booked contract awards reached $920 million in the second quarter. The company added at the time that it had secured another $300 million in awards during the third quarter through the date of the results announcement. It maintained its 2026 guidance for revenue of between $900 million and $1 billion, with positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization expected. These figures do not specify the value of the FALCON-RADAR contract, as the selection announcement did not disclose its financial value.

The company set FALCON-RADAR’s launch no earlier than 2029, placing it on a schedule that extends beyond the previously announced EAGLE-VSWIR mission, targeted for 2028. It also said millimeter-wavelength radar technology could support future applications on the moon and Mars. The company presented this as a potential use for the technology, without announcing a specific mission to either body. This potential application links the radar technology used in the Earth-observation mission with future space applications. The announced launch timing for the current mission remains 2029 or later.

LUNR shares fell 7.59% in the November 2 session, closing at $9.86. Historical trading data for that session show the stock reached a high of $10.92 and a low of $9.82. The following morning, 24/7 Wall St. reported that it rose 8% to $10.63, compared with the previous day’s close. This reflects the stock’s movement across two consecutive sessions after the selection announcement, with the confirmed close for the prior session at $9.86. The company’s announcement did not include an independent assessment of the technology or an estimate of the mission’s financial value.

Investors are watching the next near-term date on the company’s calendar: it said third-quarter results will be released before the market opens on November 12, 2026. The company is scheduled to hold a call to discuss the results that day at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. The results date follows the FALCON-RADAR selection announcement, while the company had maintained its annual revenue and adjusted earnings outlook in its second-quarter results. The next quarterly results will provide the figures the company reports for the period, following its earlier disclosure of backlog and full-year guidance. The mission announcement did not specify another date ahead of the targeted launch in 2029 or later.