Space stocks edged higher in premarket trading Thursday after Elon Musk publicly reinforced confidence in U.S. Moon and Mars ambitions.
The rally followed bullish comments from NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman about SpaceX’s essential role in America’s lunar future, sparking renewed investor interest in the battered sector.
SPCX and Rocket Lab (RKLB) each gained 0.1% in premarket trading, while AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) rose 1% as sentiment cautiously improved.
The premarket gains come after a brutal July for all three names, with RKLB down 40%, ASTS off 39% and SPCX losing 31% over the past month.
Musk posted “It will happen” on X in response to a highlight of Isaacman’s comments shared by early SpaceX investor and X Prize Foundation Executive Chairman Peter Diamandis.
Isaacman made his position clear, saying: “If Elon and SpaceX are betting on this right now, there is no reason to believe this will not come into existence. I never bet against an extremely well-capitalized Elon.”
The NASA chief also stressed that returning astronauts to the Moon and building a permanent base is the agency’s top national space-policy objective, adding of SpaceX: “We can’t do it without them.”
NASA’s Artemis III mission, due in 2027, will send four astronauts to low Earth orbit to dock with prototype lunar landers rather than attempt a surface landing, after Starship’s required in-orbit refueling technology had yet to be demonstrated.
Artemis IV, targeted for 2028, is now the mission scheduled to return Americans to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972, with semi-permanent habitats planned by the mid-2030s.
SpaceX already holds multibillion-dollar Human Landing System awards covering an uncrewed lunar demonstration, crewed landings and later missions, positioning it as the primary beneficiary of expanded Moon investment.
A sustained Moon-base buildout would generate additional demand for high-capacity launches, cargo, infrastructure and landing systems, all of which are central to SpaceX’s Starship strategy.
Rocket Lab stands to benefit more indirectly, given its existing lunar and planetary credentials through NASA’s Capstone mission and the twin Escapade spacecraft headed to Mars.
Rocket Lab’s reusable medium-lift rocket Neutron, targeted for a first flight later in 2026, could compete for larger constellation, logistics and dedicated missions as space activity accelerates.
AST SpaceMobile has limited direct Moon or Mars exposure but could benefit from stronger investor appetite for commercial-space stocks as national space investment expands.
ASTS relies heavily on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 for BlueBird deployments as it ramps its constellation toward 45 satellites for initial continuous coverage in key markets.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment was “bullish” for SPCX amid “high” message volume, while RKLB was “neutral” with “normal” activity and ASTS was “bearish” amid “low” message volume.
Over the past year, RKLB has climbed 34%, while ASTS is roughly flat with a 0.1% decline and SPCX has fallen 30%.
