SpaceX Starship is NASA's contracted human landing system and a heavy cargo lander class. · Starship Lunar Cargo (HLS path) · NET late 2020s-2030s (HLS path)
SLS launches Orion with four crew for Artemis IV, the first planned crewed south-polar landing (NASA mission page, early 2028). · Artemis IV · NET early 2028
Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy operations launch CLPS and private lunar landers, including Intuitive Machines, Firefly, ispace, and Astrobotic Griffin.
CAST service module (orbiter) provided lunar-orbit support, automated rendezvous/docking with ascender, sample canister handoff, and Earth-return trajectory for the return capsule.
Public HLS architecture: Starship tanker flights refill a propellant depot in Earth orbit so the HLS lander can load cryogenic CH4/LOX before trans-lunar injection.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and ispace signed a launch and transportation services contract on 2026-07-29 for Mission 3 ULTRA on H3, currently scheduled 2028.
NASA is evaluating bulk buys of launchers for Moon Base, and Moon Base program manager Carlos García-Galán told Bloomberg on 6 October 2026 that the agency expects to announce the first set in the near future.
Beresheet2019-02-22 · SpaceIL / IAI Beresheet, private/national hybrid soft-landing attempt.Chang'e-52020-11-23 · CNSA national lunar sample-return (near side).CAPSTONE2022-06-28 · Flown CAPSTONE (2022 Electron→Photon).Artemis I2022-11-16 · First integrated Artemis flight test: uncrewed SLS Block 1 + Orion.Hakuto-R Mission 12022-12-11 · Private Japanese lander.Chandrayaan-32023-07-14 · ISRO national soft-landing mission near lunar south polar highlands.Luna-252023-08-10 · Roscosmos national polar lander (Luna-25).SLIM2023-09-07 · JAXA SLIM precision soft-landing demo.Peregrine Mission One2024-01-08 · First CLPS launch: propellant leak after leaving Earth.IM-1 Odysseus2024-02-15 · IM-1 Odysseus (TO2-IM): first commercial soft landing (Feb 2024).Chang'e-62024-05-03 · CNSA national far-side lunar sample-return via Queqiao-2 relay.Blue Ghost Mission 12025-01-15 · Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1 (TO19D ~$93.3M): Falcon 9 launch 2025-01-15 · soft landing (upright) Mare Crisium 2025-03-02 · all 10 NASA science/tech payloads operated through a full lunar day (+ hours into night).Hakuto-R Mission 2 Resilience2025-01-15 · Commercial payloads ~$16M.IM-2 Athena2025-02-27 · IM-2 Athena (PRIME-1 path): south polar attempt (Mar 2025).Artemis II2026-04-01 · First crewed Artemis flight: SLS + Orion lunar flyby.Griffin-1 (Moon Base II)NET late 2026 · Astrobotic / Voyager Lunar Systems Griffin Mission One, NASA Moon Base II.Blue Ghost Mission 2NET 2027 · Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 2 (CS-3 ~$112M, charter-bg2): planned far-side dual-stack (Blue Ghost stacked on Elytra Dark + ESA Lunar Pathfinder).IM-4NET ~2027 · Six NASA science payloads to Mons Mouton / south polar highlands.Blue Moon MK1 Endurance (Moon Base I)NET Q1 2027 · Blue Origin Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance.IM-3 TrinityNET Q1 2027 · Intuitive Machines IM-3 (CLPS CP-11): Nova-C Trinity, NASA Moon Base III.Artemis IIINET late 2027 · NASA: Artemis III is a 2027 crewed demonstration in low Earth orbit.VIPER on Blue Moon (CS-7)NET late 2027 (contingent) · VIPER polar rover on second Blue Moon MK1 (CS-7).Blue Ghost Mission 3NET ~2028 · Six NASA science payloads to Gruithuisen Domes.Starship Lunar Cargo (HLS path)NET late 2020s-2030s (HLS path) · SpaceX Starship lunar architecture: NASA HLS crew lander path plus heavy cargo configurations.MoonFallNET 2028 · NASA JPL MoonFall sends four propulsive hop drones to the south pole in 2028.Artemis IVNET early 2028 · NASA: Artemis IV is the first planned crewed south-polar landing, early 2028.Artemis VNET late 2028 · NASA: Artemis V is the second planned crewed south-polar landing, late 2028, when lunar-base surface work begins.ispace Mission 3 ULTRANET 2028 · ispace Japan ULTRA lunar lander, inaugural ULTRA flight.Blue Ghost Mission 4NET ~2029 · South-pole CLPS with multiple rovers (MoonRanger, CSA path) and instruments.