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| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Astrobotic | JAXA | SpaceX |
| Prime contractor | Astrobotic | Mitsubishi Electric | SpaceX |
| Status | In development | Landed | In development |
| Customer | NASA-CLPS | JAXA | NASA-HLS |
| Launch date | 2026-07 (NET) | 2023-09-06 | 2027 (NET — Artemis III) |
| Landing date | — | 2024-01-19 | — |
| Landing site | Lunar south pole region | Near Shioli crater, Mare Nectaris (~10 m precision vs 100 m target) | Lunar south pole (NASA-curated candidate region near 84-90°S) |
| Payload | Venturi Astrolab FLIP rover + mass-simulator + secondary payloads (2026-05-28) | LEV-1 (2.1 kg hopper) + LEV-2 'SORA-Q' (0.25 kg sphere) (2024-01-19) | ~100 tonnes to lunar surface (sustained variant target) (2024-04-16) |
| Contract value | $199.5M (2020-06-11) | — | $2.89B + $1.15B Option B = $4.04B total (2022-11-15) |
| 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. | First Japanese soft landing; made Japan the 5th nation to soft-land on the Moon. One of two main engines failed at ~50 m altitude; lander touched down on its side but still met 100-m precision goal. Survived four lunar-night cycles despite not being designed for it; declared concluded 2024-08-23. | 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.