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| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | CNSA | SpaceX | ESA |
| Prime contractor | China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) | SpaceX | Thales Alenia Space (prime) |
| Status | Landed | In development | In development |
| Customer | CNSA | NASA-HLS | ESA |
| Launch date | 2024-05-03 | 2027 (NET — Artemis III) | 2031 (NET) — ArgoNET operational mission |
| Landing date | 2024-06-01 | — | — |
| Landing site | Apollo crater, South Pole-Aitken Basin (lunar far side) | Lunar south pole (NASA-curated candidate region near 84-90°S) | Lunar south pole region (specific site TBD) |
| Payload | 1,935.3 g of lunar far-side regolith returned to Earth (2024-06-25) | ~100 tonnes to lunar surface (sustained variant target) (2024-04-16) | Up to 2,100 kg payload (~10,000 kg launch mass) (2025-01-30) |
| Contract value | — | $2.89B + $1.15B Option B = $4.04B total (2022-11-15) | €862M (2025-01-30) |
| 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. | 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. | Europe's first dedicated lunar lander program. Designed to deliver cargo, infrastructure, and surface assets supporting Artemis-era operations. Argonaut Mission 1 demonstration NET 2030; first operational mission ArgoNET in 2031. |
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Underlying dataset: GET /api/moon/landers. Methodology: /moon/methodology.