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| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | CNSA | ispace | SpaceX |
| Prime contractor | China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) | Draper | SpaceX |
| Status | Landed | In development | In development |
| Customer | CNSA | NASA-CLPS | NASA-HLS |
| Launch date | 2024-05-03 | 2027 (NET) | 2027 (NET — Artemis III) |
| Landing date | 2024-06-01 | — | — |
| Landing site | Apollo crater, South Pole-Aitken Basin (lunar far side) | Schrödinger Basin, lunar far side near south pole | Lunar south pole (NASA-curated candidate region near 84-90°S) |
| Payload | 1,935.3 g of lunar far-side regolith returned to Earth (2024-06-25) | 300 kg surface payload capacity (2026-05-28) | ~100 tonnes to lunar surface (sustained variant target) (2024-04-16) |
| Contract value | — | $73M (2022-07-21) | $2.89B + $1.15B Option B = $4.04B total (2022-11-15) |
| Outcome | First-ever sample return from the lunar far side and the South Pole-Aitken Basin. Used the Queqiao-2 relay satellite for far-side comms. Samples revealed unexpectedly cohesive grain behavior and excavated material from the Moon's mantle. | Pivoted from Series-2 to APEX 1.0 architecture for higher payload capacity and far-side comms via two relay satellites. Far-side polar landing supports NASA's Endurance-A sample-return precursor science. | Selected April 2021 as sole HLS provider for Artemis III. Architecture requires Super Heavy launch + multiple Starship tanker refueling flights in LEO + transit to NRHO + rendezvous with Orion (SLS). NASA OIG IG-26-004 (March 2026) flagged crew-rescue capability as open risk. October 2025: NASA acting administrator Sean Duffy reopened Artemis III lander contract to competition due to Starship development pace. |
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Underlying dataset: GET /api/moon/landers. Methodology: /moon/methodology.