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| Attribute | LUPEX (ISRO lander + JAXA rover) Lunar Polar Exploration Mission Trust: Agency-primary Last verified Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | ispace | ISRO | JAXA + ISRO |
| Prime contractor | Draper | ISRO | JAXA + ISRO |
| Status | In development | In development | In development |
| Customer | NASA-CLPS | ISRO | JAXAISRO |
| Launch date | 2027 (NET) | 2027–2028 (NET) | 2028 (NET) |
| Landing date | — | — | — |
| Landing site | Schrödinger Basin, lunar far side near south pole | Near Mons Mouton, lunar south pole | Lunar south pole (permanently shadowed crater margin) |
| Payload | 300 kg surface payload capacity (2026-05-28) | Up to 3 kg lunar sample return (2026-02-06) | ~350 kg rover with drilling to 1.5 m + ISRO lander (2026-05-28) |
| Contract value | $73M (2022-07-21) | — | — |
| Outcome | 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. | India's first lunar sample-return mission. Five modules launched on two LVM3 vehicles; requires both Earth-orbit and lunar-orbit docking — first-time capabilities for ISRO. Architecture sanctioned by Government of India September 2024. | Joint ISRO-JAXA water-ice prospecting mission, designated Chandrayaan-5 by India. India's cabinet approved Phase A on 2025-03-10. Launches on JAXA's H3. Carries American and European instruments alongside Indian and Japanese ones. |
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Underlying dataset: GET /api/moon/landers. Methodology: /moon/methodology.