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| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | CNSA | SpaceX | Blue Origin |
| Prime contractor | China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) | SpaceX | Blue Origin (with Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Draper, Astrobotic, Honeybee Robotics on prime team) |
| Status | In development | In development | In development |
| Customer | CNSA | NASA-HLS | NASA-HLS |
| Launch date | 2026-08 (NET) | 2027 (NET — Artemis III) | 2030 (NET — Artemis V crewed); uncrewed demo 2027 |
| Landing date | — | — | — |
| Landing site | Shackleton crater illuminated rim, lunar south pole | Lunar south pole (NASA-curated candidate region near 84-90°S) | Lunar south pole — 30-day surface stays |
| Payload | 18 science payloads across orbiter, lander, rover, mini-hopper, and Queqiao-2 (2026-05-28) | ~100 tonnes to lunar surface (sustained variant target) (2024-04-16) | 20 t reusable / 30 t one-way to surface; crew 2-4 for up to 30 days (2026-01-04) |
| Contract value | — | $2.89B + $1.15B Option B = $4.04B total (2022-11-15) | $3.4B (2023-05-19) |
| 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. | 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. | Selected May 2023 as second HLS provider for sustained Artemis-era lunar operations. Full-scale prototype delivered to NASA Johnson Space Center in early 2026 for astronaut training. Completed third pressurized suit-test campaign with NASA Johnson's Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS). |
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Underlying dataset: GET /api/moon/landers. Methodology: /moon/methodology.