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| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Astrobotic | ispace | CNSA |
| Prime contractor | Astrobotic | Draper | China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) |
| Status | In development | In development | In development |
| Customer | NASA-CLPS | NASA-CLPS | CNSA |
| Launch date | 2026-07 (NET) | 2027 (NET) | 2026-08 (NET) |
| Landing date | — | — | — |
| Landing site | Lunar south pole region | Schrödinger Basin, lunar far side near south pole | Shackleton crater illuminated rim, lunar south pole |
| Payload | Venturi Astrolab FLIP rover + mass-simulator + secondary payloads (2026-05-28) | 300 kg surface payload capacity (2026-05-28) | 18 science payloads across orbiter, lander, rover, mini-hopper, and Queqiao-2 (2026-05-28) |
| Contract value | $199.5M (2020-06-11) | $73M (2022-07-21) | — |
| Outcome | NASA cancelled VIPER July 2024 citing cost overruns; saved ~$84M vs ~$104M completion cost. Astrobotic retained the lander demonstration task. Mission slipped from late 2025 to NET July 2026. FLIP rover (Venturi Astrolab) selected as replacement manifest. | 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. | 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. |
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Underlying dataset: GET /api/moon/landers. Methodology: /moon/methodology.