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| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | ispace | CNSA | Astrobotic |
| Prime contractor | ispace | China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) | Astrobotic |
| Status | Lost | In development | In development |
| Customer | private | CNSA | NASA-CLPS |
| Launch date | 2022-12-11 | 2026-08 (NET) | 2026-07 (NET) |
| Landing date | 2023-04-25 | — | — |
| Landing site | Atlas crater, Mare Frigoris (planned; impacted at altitude ~5 km) | Shackleton crater illuminated rim, lunar south pole | Lunar south pole region |
| Payload | Rashid rover (10 kg, UAE/MBRSC) + Sora-Q (0.25 kg, JAXA) + commercial (2023-04-25) | 18 science payloads across orbiter, lander, rover, mini-hopper, and Queqiao-2 (2026-05-28) | Venturi Astrolab FLIP rover + mass-simulator + secondary payloads (2026-05-28) |
| Contract value | — | — | $199.5M (2020-06-11) |
| Outcome | Travelled ~1.4M km — at the time, furthest a privately funded spacecraft had flown. Software flagged the radar altimeter as faulty after the lander crossed a crater rim cliff and ignored its readings. Lander ran out of fuel hovering ~5 km above surface and free-fell. | 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. | 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. |
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Underlying dataset: GET /api/moon/landers. Methodology: /moon/methodology.