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| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | CNSA | Firefly Aerospace | Intuitive Machines |
| Prime contractor | China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) | Firefly Aerospace | Intuitive Machines |
| Status | In development | In development | Landed |
| Customer | CNSA | NASA-CLPSESA | NASA-CLPS |
| Launch date | 2026-08 (NET) | 2026-Q4 (NET) | 2024-02-15 |
| Landing date | — | — | 2024-02-22 |
| Landing site | Shackleton crater illuminated rim, lunar south pole | Lunar far side (specific site TBD; supports LuSEE-Night) | Malapert A crater, ~300 km from lunar south pole |
| Payload | 18 science payloads across orbiter, lander, rover, mini-hopper, and Queqiao-2 (2026-05-28) | Dual-spacecraft: Blue Ghost lander + Elytra orbital relay (2026-05-28) | ~100 kg payload capacity (1,908 kg launch mass) (2024-02-22) |
| Contract value | — | — | $118M (2024-02-15) |
| Outcome | China's first dedicated lunar south-pole prospecting mission. Mini-flying probe hops into permanently shadowed regions to sample for water-ice volatiles. Italian laser retroreflector aboard the lander. | First commercial far-side landing attempt. Elytra deploys ESA's Lunar Pathfinder relay before Blue Ghost descends, providing dual-S/X-band relay for surface and orbital users. JPL's User Terminal Payload delivered for integration April 2026. | First US Moon landing since Apollo 17 and first commercial soft landing in history. Lander tipped to ~30° on touchdown after landing-leg failure but transmitted data for ~7 days before sunset. |
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Underlying dataset: GET /api/moon/landers. Methodology: /moon/methodology.