MoonRanger micro-rover (Astrobotic / Carnegie Mellon University, Neutron Spectrometer System)
Suitcase-sized autonomous micro-rover developed by Astrobotic (prime contractor), Carnegie Mellon University and NASA's Ames Research Center, carrying NASA's Neutron Spectrometer System to look for hydrogen, a possible sign of water, in the lunar south-polar subsurface. NASA first assigned it in April 2020 to Masten Mission One, which never flew after Masten's bankruptcy; it is now among the payloads of Firefly's Blue Ghost Mission 4 (NASA CLPS task order CS-6), with landing targeted for 2029. Carnegie Mellon says the rover is to be delivered to Firefly in July 2027, is expected to operate for one lunar day, and will be run by its team from Carnegie Mellon Mission Control.
Objective. Traverse the lunar south-polar surface autonomously for one lunar day and use the Neutron Spectrometer System to measure hydrogen-bearing volatiles in the regolith to about 1 m depth, as a possible indicator of water.
This is one payload. It does not inherit the carrier mission's outcome.
Facts
- Kind
- Payload
- Mission type
- Prospecting
- Target
- MoonLunar south pole region (Blue Ghost Mission 4 landing area on the rim of Haworth crater)On the Moon map: Haworth crater
- Launch
- Planned, no earlier than 2029Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.
- Landing
- Planned 2029 (target)Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.
- Phase
- ManifestedManifested: NASA release 25-046 (2025-07-29) and NASA's CS-6 science page (updated 2026-05-04) list MoonRanger among the payloads Firefly's Blue Ghost Mission 4 will deliver; Carnegie Mellon (2025-08-06) says the rover is being prepared for delivery to Firefly in July 2027. Earlier assignment: NASA's 2020-04-08 Masten Mission One award (Masten Mission One (XL-1 lander, NASA CLPS task order TO19C), cancelled).
- Outcome
- Not applicable
- Why it is included
- Stated resource objective
What comes next
Next recorded dates are plans, not results.
Launch: Planned, no earlier than 2029Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.
Landing: Planned 2029 (target)Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.
Participants
Operators, payload owners, carriers and customers are recorded separately.
| Organization | Role |
|---|---|
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Payload owner |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Funder |
| Astrobotic Technology | Payload builder |
| Firefly Aerospace | Carrier |
Resources and evidence
| Resource | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Water ice | Targeted |
| Volatiles | Targeted |
Open evidence gaps
- Carnegie Mellon's 2025-08-06 article says its team will conduct the mission from Carnegie Mellon Mission Control once the rover is on the Moon, and that NASA Ames designed the neutron spectrometer; Carnegie Mellon University has no entity record in this dataset, so no operator participant is listed. NASA is recorded as payload_owner because NASA and Firefly describe MoonRanger as a NASA-sponsored CLPS payload.
- No NASA statement was found that explicitly records the move of MoonRanger from Masten Mission One to CS-6 or its date; the NASA OIG report cited in Masten Mission One (XL-1 lander, NASA CLPS task order TO19C) says only that Masten's payloads would be reassigned.
- Astrobotic Technology records Voyager Technologies' July 2026 acquisition of Astrobotic; no source reviewed says whether the MoonRanger contract or team changed as a result.
- No build-status update after Carnegie Mellon's August 2025 article was found; whether the July 2027 delivery date still holds is not confirmed.
Sources
17 excerpts from 5 publicationsOne web address counts as one publication.
using its Neutron Spectrometer System to sniff out hydrogen in the lunar subsurface
Though small in size, MoonRanger carries a mighty mission: help uncover hidden water reserves.
It will carry a neutron spectrometer capable of detecting hydrogen in lunar soil up to 1 meter deep.
The Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost Mission 4 lander will deliver four NASA CLPS science payloads to the lunar south pole.
MoonRanger is a compact rover, roughly about the size of a suitcase.
Lead development organizations: NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, and Carnegie Mellon University and Astrobotic, both in Pittsburgh.
Its onboard Neutron Spectrometer System instrument will study hydrogen-bearing volatiles and the composition of lunar regolith, or soil.
The company's lunar lander is targeted to land at the Moon's South Pole region in 2029.
MoonRanger is an autonomous microrover that will explore the lunar surface.
targeted to launch no earlier than 2029, will utilize Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander and Elytra Dark orbital vehicle
NASA awarded Astrobotic $5.6 million for MoonRanger in 2019, and the Pittsburgh-based company serves as the prime contractor on the project.
as the MoonRanger team updates the rover and prepares it for delivery to Firefly Aerospace in July 2027.
The team expects the rover to operate during one lunar day, meaning the mission could last for as many as 14 Earth days.
will be among the payloads aboard a 2029 mission to the moon.
The MoonRanger will carry the Neutron Spectrometer System, which will measure the concentration of hydrogen in the Moon’s regolith – a possible indication of the existence of buried water.
NASA has selected Masten Space Systems of Mojave, California,
For now, MoonRanger waits in a clean room in the Gates Center for Computer Science, just down the hall from Carnegie Mellon Mission Control, where the team will conduct the mission once the rover is on the moon.
Cite this record
SpaceMiningData, “MoonRanger micro-rover (Astrobotic / Carnegie Mellon University, Neutron Spectrometer System)”, dataset version a00fa2c68a45, built 2026-11-11, https://spaceminingdata.com/missions/astrobotic-moonranger.html. Record checked 2026-10-28.