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| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | ispace | SpaceX | Astrobotic |
| Prime contractor | ispace | SpaceX | Astrobotic |
| Status | Lost | In development | Lost |
| Customer | private | NASA-HLS | NASA-CLPS |
| Launch date | 2022-12-11 | 2027 (NET — Artemis III) | 2024-01-08 |
| Landing date | 2023-04-25 | — | — |
| Landing site | Atlas crater, Mare Frigoris (planned; impacted at altitude ~5 km) | Lunar south pole (NASA-curated candidate region near 84-90°S) | Sinus Viscositatis (planned; never reached) |
| Payload | Rashid rover (10 kg, UAE/MBRSC) + Sora-Q (0.25 kg, JAXA) + commercial (2023-04-25) | ~100 tonnes to lunar surface (sustained variant target) (2024-04-16) | 20 payloads from 7 nations (2024-01-08) |
| Contract value | — | $2.89B + $1.15B Option B = $4.04B total (2022-11-15) | $108M (2024-01-08) |
| 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. | 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. | Maiden flight of ULA's Vulcan Centaur. Helium pressurant valve failed to reseal post-actuation, over-pressurizing the oxidizer tank and rupturing it. Lander commanded into controlled re-entry; burned up over South Pacific 2024-01-18. |
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Underlying dataset: GET /api/moon/landers. Methodology: /moon/methodology.