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Rovers & hoppers
What moves after landing - scout rovers, hoppers, and crewed lunar terrain vehicles.
Cargo CNSA/CAST ascent stage from lunar surface to lunar orbit for sample canister transfer on Chang'e-5. · Chang'e-5 · 2020-11-23 MBRSC Rashid rover on HAKUTO-R M1. · Hakuto-R Mission 1 · 2022-12-11 Sora-Q is a transformable robot from JAXA, Takara Tomy, Sony, and Doshisha University. · Hakuto-R Mission 1 · 2022-12-11 Pragyan is ISRO's rover. · Chandrayaan-3 · 2023-07-14 JAXA / Takara Tomy / Sony / Doshisha LEV-2 Sora-Q transformable robot on SLIM - same product family as Hakuto-R M1 Sora-Q. · SLIM · 2023-09-07 LEV-1 is JAXA's hopping robot, released from SLIM. · SLIM · 2023-09-07 COLMENA is five picorovers from Mexico's AEM and UNAM LINX, flown on Peregrine Mission One. · Peregrine Mission One · 2024-01-08 Iris is a Carnegie Mellon student micro-rover that flew on Peregrine Mission One. · Peregrine Mission One · 2024-01-08 CNSA/CAST farside ascent stage for Chang'e-6 sample canister transfer to orbiter. · Chang'e-6 · 2024-05-03 ispace-EUROPE TENACIOUS ~5 kg rover on HAKUTO-R M2. · Hakuto-R Mission 2 Resilience · 2025-01-15 AstroAnt is an MIT micro-robot flown on IM-2. · IM-2 Athena · 2025-02-27 Space-hardened cellular network payload for lander↔surface UE links (MAPP / hopper). · IM-2 Athena · 2025-02-27 Lunar Outpost MAPP commercial rover on IM-2. · IM-2 Athena · 2025-02-27 Puli Space Technologies neutron spectrometer (PLWS) flew on Intuitive Machines Micro-Nova hopper Grace during IM-2. · IM-2 Athena · 2025-02-27 Dymon (Japan) palm-sized commercial micro-rover on IM-2. · IM-2 Athena · 2025-02-27 Grace is Intuitive Machines' small hopper, designed to leap across the surface after IM-2 landed near the Shackleton connecting ridge. · IM-2 Athena · 2025-02-27 NASA JPL CADRE cooperative autonomous distributed robotic exploration - three suitcase-scale rovers plus lander base station on IM-3 / CP-11 at Reiner Gamma. · IM-3 Trinity · NET H2 2026 Johns Hopkins APL Lunar Vertex (LVx) magnetic anomaly / Reiner Gamma science suite on IM-3 CP-11. · IM-3 Trinity · NET H2 2026 Lunar Outpost MAPP-variant rover in the NASA Lunar Vertex (LVx) PRISM suite on IM-3 - hosts APL magnetometer and Canadensys rover multispectral microscope at. · IM-3 Trinity · NET H2 2026 CNSA Chang'e-7 mini-flying/hopping probe with water-molecule / hydrogen isotope analyzer for permanently shadowed regions. · Chang'e-7 · NET August 2026 CNSA Chang'e-7 polar orbiter segment of multi-element south pole suite (orbiter + lander + rover + hopper + relay class). · Chang'e-7 · NET August 2026 CNSA Chang'e-7 planned south polar comprehensive suite: orbiter, lander, rover, mini-flying hopper for PSRs. · Chang'e-7 · NET August 2026 CNSA Chang'e-7 surface rover for south polar mobility and science (public multi-element suite descriptions). · Chang'e-7 · NET August 2026 Mission Control Space Services BEACON autonomy stack with Astrobotic CubeRover 2U-class mobility on Griffin-1 VIPER-class path. · Griffin-1 (Moon Base II) · NET late 2026 Venturi built a battery enclosure for the FLIP rover on Griffin-1, sized to survive the lunar night. · Griffin-1 (Moon Base II) · NET late 2026 Venturi Astrolab Crewed Lunar Vehicle CLV-1 (FLEX-derived) under NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services Phase 1 High Achievability Mission award (~$219M class). · CX-2 Lunar Terrain Vehicle Delivery · NET late 2020s (schedule TBD) Lunar Outpost Pegasus crewed LTV (Eagle-derived) under NASA LTVS Phase 1 High Achievability Mission award (~$220M class). · CX-2 Lunar Terrain Vehicle Delivery · NET late 2020s (schedule TBD) Blue Origin public path for NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle related delivery / CX-2 class surface mobility logistics. · CX-2 Lunar Terrain Vehicle Delivery · NET late 2020s (schedule TBD) Rashid 2 is the UAE's second lunar rover, built by MBRSC. · Blue Ghost Mission 2 · NET 2027 Moon-spec surface EVA suit for Artemis III under NASA xEVAS. · Artemis III · NET 2027 Polar volatiles prospecting rover (~100-day science goal): map and sample ice-bearing regolith at the lunar south pole. · VIPER on Blue Moon (CS-7) · NET late 2027 (contingent) Firefly contracted Honeybee Robotics (Blue Origin) for a lunar rover on Blue Ghost Mission 3 Gruithuisen Domes path (public 2025 announcement). · Blue Ghost Mission 3 · NET ~2028 NASA assigned SpaceX’s Starship cargo lander to deliver JAXA’s pressurized rover to the lunar surface no earlier than fiscal year 2032, in support of Artemis. · Starship Lunar Cargo (HLS path) · NET late 2020s-2030s (HLS path) Four JPL propulsive hop drones deployed by Firefly Elytra during descent. · MoonFall · NET 2028 Same Moon-spec surface EVA class as Artemis III (AxEMU / xEVAS) for crewed south-polar surface ops. · Artemis IV · NET 2028 Canadian rover contribution on south-pole CLPS stack for mobility and science ops measurement. · Blue Ghost Mission 4 · NET ~2029 Autonomous microrover measurement for polar hydrogen mapping (neutron spectrometer path). · Blue Ghost Mission 4 · NET ~2029 Lunar mobility platform (Australian contribution) carrying sensor package for surface operations measurement. · IM-5 Nova-D · NET ~2030 class Honeybee Robotics lunar rover on IM-5 Nova-D CT-4 suite (public suite imagery/description). · IM-5 Nova-D · NET ~2030 class IM-5 Nova-D · NET ~2030 class
Jobs JAXA / Takara Tomy / Sony / Doshisha LEV-2 Sora-Q transformable robot on SLIM - same product family as Hakuto-R M1 Sora-Q. MBRSC Rashid rover on HAKUTO-R M1. Sora-Q is a transformable robot from JAXA, Takara Tomy, Sony, and Doshisha University. Pragyan is ISRO's rover. LEV-1 is JAXA's hopping robot, released from SLIM. COLMENA is five picorovers from Mexico's AEM and UNAM LINX, flown on Peregrine Mission One. Iris is a Carnegie Mellon student micro-rover that flew on Peregrine Mission One. TENACIOUS is ispace-EUROPE's roughly 5 kg rover on Hakuto-R Mission 2. AstroAnt is an MIT micro-robot flown on IM-2. Nokia's Lunar Surface Communications System is a space-hardened cellular network. Lunar Outpost MAPP commercial rover on IM-2. Puli Space Technologies neutron spectrometer (PLWS) flew on Intuitive Machines Micro-Nova hopper Grace during IM-2. Yaoki is Dymon's palm-sized commercial micro-rover from Japan. Grace is Intuitive Machines' small hopper, designed to leap across the surface after IM-2 landed near the Shackleton connecting ridge. NASA JPL CADRE cooperative autonomous distributed robotic exploration multi-rover demo on IM-3 / CP-11 path. Lunar Outpost MAPP-variant rover is the mobility element of NASA’s Lunar Vertex PRISM suite on IM-3. CNSA Chang'e-7 mini-flying/hopping probe with water-molecule / hydrogen isotope analyzer for permanently shadowed regions. CNSA Chang'e-7 polar orbiter segment of multi-element south pole suite (orbiter + lander + rover + hopper + relay class). Chang'e-7 is CNSA's planned south-polar lander. CNSA Chang'e-7 planned south polar comprehensive suite: orbiter, lander, rover, mini-flying hopper for PSRs. CNSA Chang'e-7 surface rover for south polar mobility and science (public multi-element suite descriptions). Mission Control Space Services BEACON autonomy stack with Astrobotic CubeRover 2U-class mobility on Griffin-1 VIPER-class path. Venturi Astrolab FLIP tech-demo rover on Griffin-1 maturing FLEX/LTV-relevant mobility, power, and avionics. Venturi builds the deformable wheels for Astrolab's FLIP rover on Griffin-1. Venturi Astrolab Crewed Lunar Vehicle CLV-1 (FLEX-derived) under NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services Phase 1 High Achievability Mission award (~$219M class). NASA CLPS CX-2 task order to Blue Origin Blue Moon Mark 1 to deliver LTV-class mobility to the lunar south pole region (~$188M initial + ~$280.4M option period. Blue Origin public path for NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle related delivery / CX-2 class surface mobility logistics. Lunar Outpost Pegasus crewed LTV (Eagle-derived) under NASA LTVS Phase 1 High Achievability Mission award (~$220M class). Rashid 2 is the UAE's second lunar rover, built by MBRSC. Axiom Space Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) for Artemis III/IV-class surface EVA under NASA xEVAS. NASA astronauts practiced Starship HLS elevator and airlock work in pressurized EVA suits with Axiom. NASA VIPER polar volatiles rover delivery path on Blue Origin Blue Moon CS-7 after Griffin restructuring. NASA: MoonFall drones travel aboard Firefly Elytra, which deploys them during descent. Firefly contracted Honeybee Robotics (Blue Origin) for a lunar rover on Blue Ghost Mission 3 Gruithuisen Domes path (public 2025 announcement). Four JPL propulsive hop drones. CSA lunar rover on Blue Ghost Mission 4 south pole path (NASA-sponsored suite with Firefly dual-rover stack). Astrobotic MoonRanger autonomous microrover with neutron spectrometer path for hydrogen/volatiles in PSRs on Blue Ghost Mission 4 / CS-6. Australian Space Agency Roo-ver mobility platform carrying NASA GSFC Multifunctional Nanosensor Platform on IM-5. Australian Space Agency lunar rover manifested on Intuitive Machines IM-5 Nova-D south pole delivery (public award messaging). Honeybee Robotics (Blue Origin) lunar rover pictured/described with Nova-D IM-5 award materials alongside ASA Roo-ver.
Flights Chang'e-5 2020-11-23 · CNSA national lunar sample-return (near side). Hakuto-R Mission 1 2022-12-11 · Private Japanese lander. Chandrayaan-3 2023-07-14 · ISRO national soft-landing mission near lunar south polar highlands. SLIM 2023-09-07 · JAXA SLIM precision soft-landing demo. Peregrine Mission One 2024-01-08 · First CLPS launch. Chang'e-6 2024-05-03 · CNSA national far-side lunar sample-return via Queqiao-2 relay. Hakuto-R Mission 2 Resilience 2025-01-15 · Commercial payloads ~$16M. IM-2 Athena 2025-02-27 · IM-2 Athena (PRIME-1 path): south polar attempt (Mar 2025). IM-3 Trinity NET H2 2026 · Intuitive Machines IM-3 (CLPS CP-11): Nova-C Trinity - NASA Moon Base III. Chang'e-7 NET August 2026 · CNSA south-pole complex (orbiter, lander, rover, hopper) focused on water-ice and polar environment. Griffin-1 (Moon Base II) NET late 2026 · Astrobotic / Voyager Lunar Systems Griffin Mission One - NASA Moon Base II. Blue Ghost Mission 2 NET 2027 · Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 2 (CS-3 ~$112M, charter-bg2): planned far-side dual-stack (Blue Ghost stacked on Elytra Dark + ESA Lunar. CX-2 Lunar Terrain Vehicle Delivery NET late 2020s (schedule TBD) · NASA CX-2 CLPS path for Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) delivery architecture (exploration-led). Artemis III NET 2027 · First crewed Artemis lunar landing architecture (SLS + Orion + HLS). VIPER on Blue Moon (CS-7) NET late 2027 (contingent) · VIPER polar rover on second Blue Moon MK1 (CS-7). Starship Lunar Cargo (HLS path) NET late 2020s-2030s (HLS path) · SpaceX Starship lunar architecture: NASA HLS crew lander path (Option A/B) plus heavy cargo configurations. Blue Ghost Mission 3 NET ~2028 · Six NASA science payloads to Gruithuisen Domes. MoonFall NET 2028 · NASA JPL MoonFall - four propulsive hop drones survey the lunar south pole. Artemis IV NET 2028 · National crewed lunar landing architecture after Artemis III. Blue Ghost Mission 4 NET ~2029 · South-pole CLPS with multiple rovers (MoonRanger, CSA path) and instruments. IM-5 Nova-D NET ~2030 class · First cargo-class Nova-D CLPS.