Intuitive Machines is “the leading beneficiary of NASA’s lunar commercialization efforts,” says B. Riley Securities analyst Mike Crawford.

NASA wants to establish a permanent human presence on the moon, but right now, astronauts have to be in direct line of sight with Earth to phone home. The space agency is looking to change that with its developing Near Space Network,

NASA has awarded Intuitive Machines a contract of up to $4.82 billion for communication and navigation services for missions in the near space region, the space exploration company said on Tuesday.