Space firm Lunar Outpost selected AEye’s Apollo long-range lidar for the Pegasus Lunar Terrain Vehicle, which is being developed to transport astronauts across the Moon.
- Lunar Outpost plans to use Apollo for terrain perception, obstacle detection, and autonomous navigation.
- AEye said Apollo’s solid-state design was a key factor in its selection for the project.
- Recently, AEye’s leading defense customer placed a third consecutive paid order.
Shares of AEye (LIDR) surged 38% on Tuesday, briefly surging past its 50-day moving average (50-DMA) for the first time in nearly three months, after the lidar company landed its first-ever space contract.
LIDR shares also clocked their biggest single-day gain in more than five months.
A Multi-Million Dollar Contract To Use Lidar On The Moon
AEye announced that Lunar Outpost, a private space firm, selected its Apollo long-range lidar for the Pegasus Lunar Terrain Vehicle, which is being developed to transport astronauts across the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program. Lunar Outpost plans to use Apollo for terrain perception, obstacle detection, and autonomous navigation.
The deal marks a new commercial market for AEye, extending its technology beyond automotive and defense into the growing lunar infrastructure market.
“This multi-million-dollar contract award is a testament to our technology and its ability to address this significant market opportunity,” said Matt Fisch, AEye’s Chairman and CEO.
Why Lunar Outpost Picked AEye’s Apollo
Lunar Outpost is developing Pegasus to provide astronauts with transportation around the lunar South Pole. AEye said Apollo’s solid-state design was a key factor in its selection for the project.
The sensor is designed to withstand extreme temperatures, constant vibration, and the lunar vacuum. Its software-defined architecture also allows scanning patterns and performance to be adjusted for different missions without changing the hardware.
AEye’s Defense Business Secures Repeat Orders
Earlier this month, AEye said Defense remains its most active vertical, with engagements doubling sequentially in the second quarter.
AEye said its leading defense customer recently placed a third consecutive paid order and highlighted its growing repeat business, with Apollo being evaluated for drones, unmanned ground vehicles, and counter-drone applications. The company is also participating in several Level 3 and Level 4 automotive evaluations.
Retail’s Take On LIDR
Retail sentiment surrounding LIDR on Stocktwits flipped to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘neutral’ a day earlier, amid ‘extremely high’ message volumes.
One user expects the stock to climb to $1.88.
View this Stocktwits post
The stock is down 15% so far in 2026.
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