CompanyUnited StatesDissolved

Masten Space Systems, Inc.

Mojave, California rocket-lander company (founded 2004) that held a NASA CLPS task order to land resource-prospecting instruments at the lunar south pole and a USD 15,000 NASA regolith-purchase contract; it filed Chapter 11 in July 2022, sold substantially all assets to Astrobotic under a Sept 2022 court order, and was liquidated under a plan effective Nov 2022.

See it on the 3D Moon

Targeted

An organization's level is recorded separately and is not a ranking of its linked missions' results. How the ladder works.

Resources and evidence

Each resource shows the highest step primary sources support. How the ladder works.

Resource	Evidence	Meaning
Regolith	Targeted	work aimed at it
Water ice	Targeted	work aimed at it
Volatiles	Targeted	work aimed at it

Demonstrated

No lunar mission flew. Masten performed terrestrial vertical-takeoff/landing test flights (600+ per Astrobotic) and flew payloads such as Honeybee Robotics' PlanetVac on suborbital tests.

Claimed or planned

Masten Mission One was to deliver NASA instruments including MSolo, NIRVSS and the Neutron Spectrometer System to the south pole, and Masten proposed to collect lunar regolith for NASA for USD 15,000. Astrobotic's release lists 'lunar water mining technology' among the Masten technology portfolio it acquired.

Facts

Headquarters: United States
Type: Company
Founded: 2004
Status: Dissolvedas of 2022-11-28. U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Del.) case 22-10657 docket: Chapter 11 petition 2022-07-28; order approving sale of substantially all assets signed 2022-09-08; plan of liquidation confirmed 2022-11-09, debtor renamed Space Case, Inc., effective date noticed 2022-11-28; a Masten Liquidating Trust administers the estate. The asset sale to Astrobotic was not a purchase of the corporation, so no parent organization is linked, and the status is dissolved rather than absorbed.
Roles: Lander / transport
Targets: Moon
Also known as: Masten; Space Case, Inc. (debtor's name after the asset sale)
Website: masten.aero

Missions

1 records

Mission	Role	Launch or landing	Phase	Outcome
Masten Mission One (XL-1 lander, NASA CLPS task order TO19C)Spacecraft	Operator	Former plan: 2023-11 Date details Historical. The mission was cancelled.	Cancelled	Not applicable

Dated events

Amounts are shown one at a time as each source states them. They are never added together.

2020-12-03
NASA lunar regolith purchase contract to Masten Space Systems, $15,000
ContractMasten Space Systems, Inc.With Masten Mission One (XL-1 lander, NASA CLPS task order TO19C), National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationUSD 15,000 (official award record)
NASA selected Masten Space Systems to collect lunar regolith and transfer ownership in place to NASA for $15,000, following a planned 2023 South Pole landing. Masten never flew a lunar lander; Masten filed for Chapter 11 in July 2022; Astrobotic announced in September 2022 that it had acquired Masten, and a Chapter 11 plan of liquidation for Masten Space Systems, Inc. was later confirmed and reported effective. The fate of this contract is not documented in retrieved sources.
Sources (5) and evidence gaps
1. [1]NASA Selects Companies to Collect Lunar Resources for Artemis Demonstrations (Release 20-118, 3 December 2020)
  NASAGovernment recordPublished 2020-12-03Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: organizations or records involved, date
  NASA has selected four companies to collect space resources and transfer ownership to the agency: Lunar Outpost of Golden, Colorado; Masten Space Systems of Mojave, California; ispace Europe of Luxembourg; and ispace Japan of Tokyo.
  Quote matched the source text when accessed.
2. [2]NASA Release 20-118 - selection details
  NASAGovernment recordPublished 2020-12-03Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: amount
  Masten Space Systems proposed collection for $15,000 following arrival in 2023 of a lander to the lunar South Pole.
  Quote matched the source text when accessed.
3. [3]Astrobotic Acquires Masten Space Systems (13 September 2022, archived)
  Astrobotic TechnologyCompany statementPublished 2022-09-13Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: summary
  Astrobotic announces today the acquisition of Masten Space Systems
  Quote matched the source text when accessed.
4. [4]Space Case, Inc., 22-10657 (Bankr. D. Del.) - docket
  CourtListener (RECAP of PACER)Court or regulatory filingAccessed 2026-09-25Supports: summary
  Chapter 11 Voluntary Petition . Fee Amount $1738. Filed by Masten Space Systems, Inc.
  Quote matched the source text when accessed.
5. [5]Space Case, Inc., 22-10657 (Bankr. D. Del.) - docket page 3
  CourtListener (RECAP of PACER)Court or regulatory filingAccessed 2026-09-25Supports: summary
  Notice of Entry of Order Confirming, and Occurrence of Effective Date of Modified Combined Disclosure Statement and Chapter 11 Plan of Liquidation of Masten Space Systems, Inc.
  Quote matched the source text when accessed.
- Termination, assignment, or other disposition of Masten's regolith contract after the 2022 acquisition not found in any primary source.
- Underlying confirmation-order and effective-date-notice PDFs were not retrieved; the precise effective date and completion of liquidation are not established by the retained docket entries.
2020-04-08
NASA CLPS task order to Masten Space Systems for south-pole delivery (USD 75.9 million)
ContractMasten Space Systems, Inc.With Masten Mission One (XL-1 lander, NASA CLPS task order TO19C), National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationUSD 75,900,000 (official award record)
NASA awarded Masten a USD 75.9 million CLPS task order to deliver eight payloads (nine instruments), several resource-related, to the lunar south pole; NASA OIG later reported the value grew to USD 81.3 million and the task order was terminated.
Sources (3)
1. [1]NASA Awards Contract to Deliver Science, Tech to Moon Ahead of Human Missions
  NASAGovernment recordPublished 2020-04-08Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: amount, date
  The $75.9 million award includes end-to-end services for delivery of the instruments
  Quote matched the source text when accessed.
2. [2]NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services Initiative (IG-24-013)
  NASA Office of Inspector GeneralGovernment recordPublished 2024-06-06Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: summary
  Further, two task orders were terminated, one of which had already been paid $66.1 million of the $81.3 million task order value based on milestones performed.
  Quote matched the source text when accessed.
3. [3]NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services Initiative (IG-24-013)
  NASA Office of Inspector GeneralGovernment recordPublished 2024-06-06Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: summary
  As a result of this bankruptcy, NASA lost the $66 million in milestone payments made to Masten and is in the process of settling recoveries.
  Quote matched the source text when accessed.

Open evidence gaps

Plan confirmation order and sale order texts not retrieved (docket entries only).
masten.aero did not respond on 2026-09-25; listed as the historical domain.

Record history

changes to this record's facts, newest first

Changed	Field	Was	Now	Reason	Source
2022-11-28	status	Active	Dissolved	Source update	[2]

Sources

7 excerpts from 5 publications

One web address counts as one publication.

[1]Space Case, Inc., 22-10657 (Bankr. D. Del.) - docket
CourtListener (RECAP of PACER)Court or regulatory filingAccessed 2026-09-25Supports: status, record history
Chapter 11 Voluntary Petition . Fee Amount $1738. Filed by Masten Space Systems, Inc.
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[2]Space Case, Inc., 22-10657 (Bankr. D. Del.) - docket page 3
CourtListener (RECAP of PACER)Court or regulatory filingAccessed 2026-09-25Supports: status, status date
Notice of Entry of Order Confirming, and Occurrence of Effective Date of Modified Combined Disclosure Statement and Chapter 11 Plan of Liquidation of Masten Space Systems, Inc.
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[3]Space Case, Inc., 22-10657 (Bankr. D. Del.) - docket page 3
CourtListener (RECAP of PACER)Court or regulatory filingAccessed 2026-09-25Supports: aliases
Notice of Name Change of Debtor Filed by Masten Space Systems, Inc.
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[4]Space Case, Inc., 22-10657 (Bankr. D. Del.) - docket page 3
CourtListener (RECAP of PACER)Court or regulatory filingAccessed 2026-09-25Supports: status
Peter Hurwitz, solely in his capacity as Liquidating Trustee of the Masten Liquidating Trust
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[5]Masten Space Systems, a NASA moon landing contractor, files for bankruptcy
Spaceflight NowPressPublished 2022-07-29Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: year founded
Founded in 2004, Masten won a contract with NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program in April 2020
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[6]Astrobotic Acquires Masten Space Systems
Astrobotic TechnologyCompany statementPublished 2022-09-13Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: resource activity (claimed)
Astrobotic will also continue to advance Masten's space technology portfolio, which includes innovations in lunar night survival, instant landing pads construction, lunar water mining technology, and lunar infrastructure construction technologies.
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[7]NASA Selects Companies to Collect Lunar Resources for Artemis Demonstrations
NASAGovernment recordPublished 2020-12-03Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: resources, resource activity (claimed)
Masten Space Systems proposed collection for $15,000 following arrival in 2023 of a lander to the lunar South Pole.
Quote matched the source text when accessed.

Cite this record

SpaceMiningData, “Masten Space Systems, Inc.”, dataset version a00fa2c68a45, built 2026-11-11, https://spaceminingdata.com/organizations/masten-space-systems.html. Record checked 2026-09-25.