Momentus Inc. experienced a significant surge in its stock price, with shares trading higher by almost 17% in the previous week. This upward trend is believed to be connected to the political landscape, particularly Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election. Following Trump's win, there has been a noticeable uptick in several space stocks, as he is anticipated to back further progress in Mars exploration and see the moon as a strategic point for future Mars missions, potentially easing regulatory obstacles for space exploration firms.
During Trump's prior term, he played a pivotal role in establishing the U.S. Space Force, rejuvenating Space Command, and advocating for NASA's renewed focus on lunar missions. The alignment of Trump’s support with SpaceX's vision is noteworthy, as Elon Musk has long been aspiring to send humans to Mars. Musk's vocal endorsement of Trump and symbolic representation of his Mars goals via an "Occupy Mars" t-shirt underscore his commitment to Mars exploration. The potential streamlining of regulations could alleviate constraints imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which have hindered the development of Starship, as reported by Reuters.
Momentus, a U.S.-based commercial space company, has a history of collaboration with SpaceX on previous missions. In October, the company clinched a contract with NASA's Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) program, enabling it to transport high-risk payloads such as CubeSats to varying orbits. Offering commercial satellite buses and in-space infrastructure services like in-space transportation and hosted payloads, Momentus has also partaken in SpaceX Transporter missions to deploy satellites. As a result of these developments, Momentus' shares closed 8.57% higher at around 66 cents on Monday, as reported by Benzinga Pro.