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| Attribute | Blue Moon Mark 1 (flight 2) Blue Moon MK1 / VIPER Delivery Trust: Trade-press only Last verified Remove × | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | SpaceX | CNSA | Blue Origin |
| Prime contractor | SpaceX | China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) | Blue Origin |
| Status | In development | In development | In development |
| Customer | NASA-HLS | CNSA | NASA-CLPS |
| Launch date | 2027 (NET — Artemis III) | 2026-08 (NET) | — |
| Landing date | — | — | — |
| Landing site | Lunar south pole (NASA-curated candidate region near 84-90°S) | Shackleton crater illuminated rim, lunar south pole | Lunar south pole (VIPER traverse site) |
| Payload | ~100 tonnes to lunar surface (sustained variant target) (2024-04-16) | 18 science payloads across orbiter, lander, rover, mini-hopper, and Queqiao-2 (2026-05-28) | VIPER rover (~430 kg dry) (2025-09-19) |
| Contract value | $2.89B + $1.15B Option B = $4.04B total (2022-11-15) | — | $190M (2025-09-19) |
| 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 Artemis III lander contract to competition due to Starship development pace. | 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's CLPS task order awarded 2025-09-19 after pulling VIPER from Griffin. Re-uses second MK1 lander production unit; mission cadence depends on Pathfinder Mission 1 outcome. |
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Underlying dataset: GET /api/moon/landers. Methodology: /moon/methodology.