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| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | ispace | Intuitive Machines | SpaceX |
| Prime contractor | ispace | Intuitive Machines | SpaceX |
| Status | Lost | Landed | In development |
| Customer | private | NASA-CLPS | NASA-HLS |
| Launch date | 2022-12-11 | 2025-02-27 | 2027 (NET — Artemis III) |
| Landing date | 2023-04-25 | 2025-03-06 | — |
| Landing site | Atlas crater, Mare Frigoris (planned; impacted at altitude ~5 km) | Mons Mouton plateau, lunar south pole (~400 m off target) | Lunar south pole (NASA-curated candidate region near 84-90°S) |
| Payload | Rashid rover (10 kg, UAE/MBRSC) + Sora-Q (0.25 kg, JAXA) + commercial (2023-04-25) | 10 payloads delivered (2025-03-06) | ~100 tonnes to lunar surface (sustained variant target) (2024-04-16) |
| Contract value | — | $62.5M (2025-02-27) | $2.89B + $1.15B Option B = $4.04B total (2022-11-15) |
| 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. | Soft-landed but tipped onto its side after altimeter failure caused the lander to strike a plateau and skid into a crater rim. Power depleted within ~24 hours; ~250 MB of data transmitted including TRIDENT drill range-of-motion demonstration. | 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.