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| Attribute | Starship HLS Artemis III LEO Demo → Artemis IV Crewed Landing Trust: Agency-primary Last verified Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | SpaceX | Firefly Aerospace | CNSA |
| Prime contractor | SpaceX | Firefly Aerospace | China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) |
| Status | In development | In development | In development |
| Customer | NASA-HLS | NASA-CLPSESA | CNSA |
| Launch date | Late 2027 (NET — Artemis III crewed LEO docking demo); first crewed landing Artemis IV (~2028) | 2026-Q4 (NET) | 2026-08 (NET) |
| Landing date | — | — | — |
| Landing site | Lunar south pole (NASA-curated candidate region near 84-90°S) — first surface use Artemis IV | Lunar far side (specific site TBD; supports LuSEE-Night) | Shackleton crater illuminated rim, lunar south pole |
| Payload | ~100 tonnes to lunar surface (sustained variant target) (2024-04-16) | Dual-spacecraft: Blue Ghost lander + Elytra orbital relay (2026-05-28) | 21 science payloads (6 international) across orbiter, lander, rover, mini-hopper, and Queqiao-2 (2026-06-12) |
| Contract value | $2.89B + $1.15B Option B = $4.04B total (2022-11-15) | — | — |
| Outcome | 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 the Artemis III lander contract to competition due to Starship development pace. In 2026 NASA redefined Artemis III as a crewed HLS docking demonstration in Earth orbit (late 2027 NET), naming the crew — Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Frank Rubio, and Andre Douglas — on June 9, 2026; the first crewed lunar landing moved to Artemis IV (~2028). | First commercial far-side landing attempt. Elytra deploys ESA's Lunar Pathfinder relay before Blue Ghost descends, providing dual-S/X-band relay for surface and orbital users. JPL's User Terminal Payload delivered for integration April 2026. | China's first dedicated lunar south-pole prospecting mission. Mini-flying probe hops into permanently shadowed regions to sample for water-ice volatiles. Six international payloads aboard, including an Italian laser retroreflector. Spacecraft arrived at the Wenchang spaceport for launch preparations, targeting ~August 2026. |
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Underlying dataset: GET /api/moon/landers. Methodology: /moon/methodology.