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| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | ispace | CNSA | Astrobotic |
| Prime contractor | Draper | China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) | Astrobotic |
| Status | In development | Landed | In development |
| Customer | NASA-CLPS | CNSA | NASA-CLPS |
| Launch date | 2027 (NET) | 2024-05-03 | 2026-07 (NET) |
| Landing date | — | 2024-06-01 | — |
| Landing site | Schrödinger Basin, lunar far side near south pole | Apollo crater, South Pole-Aitken Basin (lunar far side) | Lunar south pole region |
| Payload | 300 kg surface payload capacity (2026-05-28) | 1,935.3 g of lunar far-side regolith returned to Earth (2024-06-25) | Venturi Astrolab FLIP rover + mass-simulator + secondary payloads (2026-05-28) |
| Contract value | $73M (2022-07-21) | — | $199.5M (2020-06-11) |
| 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. | First-ever sample return from the lunar far side and the South Pole-Aitken Basin. Used the Queqiao-2 relay satellite for far-side comms. Samples revealed unexpectedly cohesive grain behavior and excavated material from the Moon's mantle. | 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.