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| Attribute | LUPEX (ISRO lander + JAXA rover) Lunar Polar Exploration Mission Trust: Agency-primary Last verified Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | JAXA + ISRO | CNSA | Astrobotic |
| Prime contractor | JAXA + ISRO | China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) | Astrobotic |
| Status | In development | In development | In development |
| Customer | JAXAISRO | CNSA | NASA-CLPS |
| Launch date | 2028 (NET) | 2026-08 (NET) | 2026-07 (NET) |
| Landing date | — | — | — |
| Landing site | Lunar south pole (permanently shadowed crater margin) | Shackleton crater illuminated rim, lunar south pole | Lunar south pole region |
| Payload | ~350 kg rover with drilling to 1.5 m + ISRO lander (2026-05-28) | 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 | 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. | 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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