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| Attribute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | JAXA | CNSA | Astrobotic |
| Prime contractor | Mitsubishi Electric | China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) | Astrobotic |
| Status | Landed | Landed | In development |
| Customer | JAXA | CNSA | NASA-CLPS |
| Launch date | 2023-09-06 | 2024-05-03 | 2026-07 (NET) |
| Landing date | 2024-01-19 | 2024-06-01 | — |
| Landing site | Near Shioli crater, Mare Nectaris (~10 m precision vs 100 m target) | Apollo crater, South Pole-Aitken Basin (lunar far side) | Lunar south pole region |
| Payload | LEV-1 (2.1 kg hopper) + LEV-2 'SORA-Q' (0.25 kg sphere) (2024-01-19) | 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 | — | — | $199.5M (2020-06-11) |
| Outcome | First Japanese soft landing; made Japan the 5th nation to soft-land on the Moon. One of two main engines failed at ~50 m altitude; lander touched down on its side but still met 100-m precision goal. Survived four lunar-night cycles despite not being designed for it; declared concluded 2024-08-23. | 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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