Plans and outcomes
48 resource mission records: 31 spacecraft, 13 payloads and 4 instruments, counted separately because a lander and the rover it carries are separate records. Each row puts the earliest launch plan recorded here beside what happened.
Outcomes come from the operator's or agency's own post-mission statement where one exists, and each row names its basis where one is recorded. A recorded success is not a commercial delivery of a resource; the status page answers that question. 5 science missions listed for context are not included. Only 14 of the 48 records have schedule history here, so "None recorded here" does not mean the plan held. The earliest plan recorded here may not be the first plan ever announced; it is chosen by the same rules as schedule changes.
What the records show
Resource mission records by recorded phase and outcome, counted separately for each unit.
| Recorded state | Spacecraft | Payloads | Instruments | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flown | 13 | 4 | 2 | launched, per mission or agency records |
| Success | 3 | 1 | 1 | recorded as successful |
| Partial | 2 | 1 | 0 | recorded as a partial success |
| Failure | 6 | 2 | 0 | recorded as lost or failed |
| Unknown | 1 | 0 | 1 | no outcome statement found |
| Under way or not reported | 1 | 0 | 0 | no outcome recorded yet, for example still operating |
| Planned | 15 | 7 | 2 | announced, in development or manifested |
| Cancelled | 1 | 1 | 0 | the record shows the mission was cancelled |
| Stalled | 2 | 1 | 0 | not flown, not booked on a specific launch or lander, and no dated operator activity for 24 months or more |
Every resource mission
48 recordsFlown missions first, newest launch first; then planned missions, soonest first; then cancelled and stalled. The last line of each row is how far the record got for each resource, on the evidence ladder. A mission's outcome is not a resource result.
| Mission | Resource goal | Earliest launch plan recorded here | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| TransAstra 1-meter Capture Bag ISS demonstrationPayload · TransAstra | Validate design features of an inflatable capture structure intended to envelop orbital debris and, at larger scale, small asteroids for resource use (operator statement). | None recorded here | 2025-09Launched. Success (operator statement)No resource step recorded |
| Intuitive Machines IM-2 (Athena lander)Spacecraft · Intuitive Machines | Deliver NASA's PRIME-1 drill and mass spectrometer to measure volatiles in south-polar regolith, plus a rover to collect regolith for NASA purchase and a hopper to demonstrate water-ice detection in a shadowed crater. | None recorded here | 2025-02-26Launched. Partial (operator statement)Water ice, volatiles, regolith: targeted |
| Lunar Outpost Lunar Voyage 1 (MAPP rover on IM-2)Payload on Intuitive Machines IM-2 (Athena lander) · Lunar Outpost | Collect a small quantity of lunar regolith with a wheel-mounted hopper and transfer ownership to NASA under a $1 contract, and take neutron-spectrometer measurements for water signatures. | 2025-02-26Recorded changes | 2025-02-26Launched. Failure (operator statement)Regolith, water ice: targeted |
| Lunar TrailblazerSpacecraft · National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Produce high-resolution maps of lunar surface water: its form, amount and change over time. | None recorded here | 2025-02-26Launched. Failure (agency statement)Water ice, volatiles: targeted |
| OdinSpacecraft · AstroForge | Fly by near-Earth asteroid 2022 OB5 and capture images to help determine whether it is metallic (operator statement). | None recorded here | 2025-02-26Launched. Failure (operator statement)Platinum-group metals: targeted |
| PRIME-1 (Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1)Payload on Intuitive Machines IM-2 (Athena lander) · National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Demonstrate drilling into the lunar south polar surface with on-site mass-spectrometer analysis of gases released from the cuttings, to characterize subsurface volatiles such as water ice. | None recorded here | 2025-02-26Launched. Partial (agency statement)Water ice, volatiles: targeted |
| Puli Lunar Water Snooper (PLWS) on IM-2Instrument on Intuitive Machines IM-2 (Athena lander) · Puli Space Technologies | Measure albedo neutron count rates at the lunar south pole, including from a permanently shadowed crater reached by the Micro Nova hopper, to detect subsurface hydrogen as an indicator of water ice. | None recorded here | 2025-02-26Launched. Unknown (inferred by this dataset)Water ice: targeted |
| Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1 (Ghost Riders in the Sky)Spacecraft · Firefly Aerospace | Demonstrate pneumatic collection, transfer and sieving of lunar regolith (Lunar PlanetVac), a technology NASA says could benefit the search for water, helium and other resources. | None recorded here | 2025-01-15Launched. Success (operator statement)Regolith: sampled |
| SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon (ispace Mission 2, RESILIENCE lander)Spacecraft · ispace, inc. | Collect regolith on a lander footpad (to be photographed by the Tenacious rover) and a separate scoop sample via Tenacious, each for in-place ownership transfer to NASA under the two December 2020 contracts. | 2024 (planned)Recorded changes | 2025-01-15Launched. Failure (operator statement)Regolith: targeted |
| TENACIOUS micro-rover (ispace-EUROPE)Payload on SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon (ispace Mission 2, RESILIENCE lander) · ispace EUROPE S.A. | Use a front-mounted shovel to pick up lunar regolith, photograph it in the scoop, and transfer ownership in place to NASA under ispace-EUROPE's December 2020 USD 5,000 contract. | None recorded here | 2025-01-15Launched. Failure (inferred by this dataset)Regolith: targeted |
| Astrobotic Peregrine Mission OneSpacecraft · Astrobotic Technology | Deliver NASA's Neutron Spectrometer System, Near-Infrared Volatile Spectrometer System and Peregrine Ion-Trap Mass Spectrometer to measure hydrogen-bearing materials, hydration and volatiles at the landing site. | None recorded here | 2024-01-08Launched. Failure (operator statement)Water ice, volatiles: targeted |
| Brokkr-1Spacecraft · AstroForge | Demonstrate an in-space refinery by extracting platinum from an asteroid simulant (operator statement). | None recorded here | 2023-04-15Launched. Partial (operator statement)Platinum-group metals: claimed |
| HAKUTO-R Mission 1 (ispace M1 lander)Spacecraft · ispace, inc. | Collect regolith that accumulates on a landing-gear footpad at touchdown, photograph it, and transfer ownership in place to NASA under a December 2020 contract; the regolith was not to be returned to Earth. | None recorded here | 2022-12-11Launched. Failure (operator statement)Regolith: targeted |
| Lunar FlashlightSpacecraft · National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Seek out surface ice in permanently shadowed craters of the lunar south pole while demonstrating new small-spacecraft technologies. | None recorded here | 2022-12-11Launched. Failure (agency statement)Water ice: targeted |
| Mars 2020 Perseverance roverSpacecraft · National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Seek signs of ancient microbial life and collect rock and regolith samples; resource relevance is limited to carrying MOXIE. | None recorded here | 2020-07-30Launched. Under way or not reportedNo resource step recorded |
| MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment)Instrument on Mars 2020 Perseverance rover · National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Demonstrate production of oxygen from the carbon dioxide of the Martian atmosphere as a technology precursor for propellant and life-support oxygen. | None recorded here | 2020-07-30Launched. Success (agency statement)Oxygen: processing demo |
| Arkyd-6Spacecraft · Planetary Resources | Demonstrate a mid-wave infrared imager and supporting subsystems intended for detecting water on near-Earth asteroids (operator statement). | None recorded here | 2018-01-12Launched. Success (operator statement)Volatiles: claimed |
| OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer)Spacecraft · National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Return a sample of carbon-rich asteroid Bennu; NASA lists 'Resource Identification' (mapping the chemistry and mineralogy of a primitive, carbon-rich asteroid) among the mission's objectives. | None recorded here | 2016-09-08Launched. Success (agency statement)Regolith: sampled |
| Arkyd-3 Reflight (A3R)Spacecraft · Planetary Resources | Validate avionics, control systems and software for future asteroid-prospecting spacecraft (operator statement). | None recorded here | 2015-04-14Launched. Unknown (inferred by this dataset)No resource step recorded |
| METAL multispectral camera (Interlune / NASA Ames) on Griffin-1Instrument on Griffin Mission One (Griffin-1, NASA Moon Base II) · Interlune | Image lunar regolith to map titanium (ilmenite) content and regolith maturity, which Interlune and NASA use as proxies to estimate helium-3 abundance. | 2025 (end of year, per Interlune staff quoted by GeekWire)Recorded changes | ManifestedLaunch: Planned 2026 H2 (target)Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.Helium-3: targeted |
| Griffin Mission One (Griffin-1, NASA Moon Base II)Spacecraft · Astrobotic Technology | Deliver NASA payloads including the METAL investigation (NASA Ames with Interlune), which NASA says will study helium-3 abundance in the lunar regolith to inform in-situ resource utilization. | no earlier than fall 2025Recorded changes | In developmentLaunch: Planned, no earlier than 2026-11Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.Helium-3: targeted |
| Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 2 (Riders 2 the Dark)Spacecraft · Firefly Aerospace | Operate Fleet Space's SPIDER seismic (ambient-noise) payload from the lander for up to 14 days to image the subsurface and look for water-ice signatures; this is a seismic survey, not sampling or extraction. | 2026Recorded changes | In developmentLaunch: Planned, no earlier than 2027Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-31.Water ice: targeted |
| Intuitive Machines IM-4 (Nova-C lander, NASA CLPS task order CP-22)Spacecraft · Intuitive Machines | Deliver six NASA CLPS payloads to Mons Mouton, including ESA's PROSPECT drill and laboratory package and the L-CIRiS imaging radiometer, to look for and characterize water ice and other volatiles. | None recorded here | In developmentLaunch: Planned 2027 (target)Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-31.Water ice, volatiles, oxygen: targeted |
| PROSPECT (Package for Resource Observation, in-Situ Prospecting for Exploration, Characterisation & Testing)Payload on Intuitive Machines IM-4 (Nova-C lander, NASA CLPS task order CP-22) · European Space Agency | Drill into polar regolith, extract samples and determine the origin and abundance of cold-trapped volatiles; test oxygen extraction from regolith. | None recorded here | ManifestedLaunch: Planned 2027 (target)Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-31.Water ice, volatiles, oxygen: targeted |
| DeepSpace-2Spacecraft · AstroForge | Rendezvous with a near-Earth metallic asteroid and capture high-resolution imagery of its shape, structure and clues to mineral composition (operator statement). | 2025 (as Vestri on IM-3)Recorded changes | In developmentLaunch: Planned 2027 Q1 (target)Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.Metals (general): targeted |
| Karman+ Mission 1 (High Frontier, Corvus spacecraft)Spacecraft · Karman+ | Rendezvous with a near-Earth asteroid and demonstrate capture of regolith at kilogram scale through zero-g excavation, as stated on the company's High Frontier page; after retargeting to Apophis, the company describes the plan as rendezvousing with the asteroid and deploying its tests to the surface, which it says will let it test its mining technology. The company calls the mission a technology demonstration, not a mining mission with customers waiting for water. | early 2027Recorded changes | In developmentLaunch: Planned 2028 (target)Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-30.Regolith: targeted |
| LUPEX / Chandrayaan-5 (Lunar Polar Exploration mission)Spacecraft · Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Indian Space Research Organisation | Obtain data on the quantity and forms of lunar polar water to assess whether it can be used for sustainable exploration. | None recorded here | In developmentLaunch: Planned, no earlier than 2028Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-31.Water ice, volatiles: targeted |
| Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA) / MBR ExplorerSpacecraft · UAE Space Agency | Characterize main-belt asteroids, including the resource potential of water-rich asteroids, to prepare for possible future resource extraction. | None recorded here | In developmentLaunch: Planned 2028-03 (window)Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.Volatiles: targeted |
| PROMISE (Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping, and In-Situ Exploration)Spacecraft · National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Characterize the surface and subsurface at the Moon's South Pole, assess resource potential, and drill to characterize ice and other resources from about 1 meter down. | None recorded here | In developmentLaunch: Planned 2028 H2 (target)Schedule announced 2026-11-07. Record checked 2026-11-10.Water ice: targeted |
| Chang'e-8Spacecraft · China National Space Administration | Conduct in-situ resource utilization experiments and scientific exploration jointly with Chang'e-7. | None recorded here | In developmentLaunch: Planned 2029 (target)Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.Regolith: targeted |
| Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 4 (NASA CLPS task order CS-6, lunar south pole)Spacecraft · Firefly Aerospace | Deliver NASA-sponsored payloads to the lunar south pole and operate on the surface for more than 12 days, including MoonRanger's neutron-spectrometer search for hydrogen in the regolith, as part of what Firefly describes as evaluating the south pole's resources such as hydrogen and water. The July 2025 award announcements listed two rovers and three instruments; one rover was the Canadian Space Agency's, and in March 2026 Canadensys said the CSA is terminating work on its Lunar Rover Mission. | None recorded here | In developmentLaunch: Planned, no earlier than 2029Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.Water ice, volatiles: targeted |
| ispace Mission 4 (ULTRA lander; formerly Mission 6)Spacecraft · ispace, inc. | Deliver ESA's MAGPIE rover to the lunar south polar region to investigate water ice and other volatiles. | None recorded here | In developmentLaunch: Planned 2029 (target)Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-11-04.Water ice, volatiles: targeted |
| MAGPIE (Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration) roverPayload on ispace Mission 4 (ULTRA lander; formerly Mission 6) · ispace EUROPE S.A. | Characterise the distribution and stability of water ice and other volatiles and map hydrogen in the lunar south polar region to assess their resource potential. | 2028 (launch window, ispace September 2025)Recorded changes | ManifestedLaunch: Planned 2029 (target)Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.Water ice, volatiles: targeted |
| MoonRanger micro-rover (Astrobotic / Carnegie Mellon University, Neutron Spectrometer System)Payload on Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 4 (NASA CLPS task order CS-6, lunar south pole) · National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 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. | None recorded here | ManifestedLaunch: Planned, no earlier than 2029Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.Water ice, volatiles: targeted |
| Blue Moon Mark 1 (second lander) - VIPER deliverySpacecraft · Blue Origin | Deliver NASA's VIPER rover, which NASA describes as equipped with a suite of science instruments and a 1-meter (3.28-foot) drill, to search for and map water ice and other volatiles at the lunar South Pole. | None recorded here | In developmentLaunch not recorded. Landing: Planned 2027 H2 (target)Water ice, volatiles: targeted |
| Blue Origin Oasis-1 lunar resource-mapping orbiter (Project Oasis, with Luxembourg)Spacecraft · Blue Origin | Produce high-resolution orbital maps of lunar water ice, helium-3, radionuclides, rare earth elements and precious metals from an ultra-low polar orbit, using neutron spectroscopy for subsurface water ice, magnetometers for metals and multispectral imaging for geology, as the first phase of Project Oasis. | None recorded here | AnnouncedLaunch not recordedWater ice, helium-3, rare earths, metals (general): targeted |
| Chang'e-7Spacecraft · China National Space Administration | Survey the south-polar surface environment and the water, ice and volatile content of lunar soil, and detect natural resources beneath the surface. | around 2026 (CNSA, April 2024)Recorded changes | ManifestedLaunch not recordedWater ice, volatiles: targeted |
| Intuitive Machines CLPS south-pole delivery (2026 award, 2030 target)Spacecraft · Intuitive Machines | Deliver NASA instruments including MSolo and NIRVSS to characterize volatiles and possible ices in south-polar regolith. | None recorded here | AnnouncedLaunch not recorded. Landing: Planned 2030 (target)Volatiles, water ice: targeted |
| LUNAR-RABBIT water and metal-element exploration instruments (University of Tokyo)Instrument · The University of Tokyo | Measure on the lunar surface the concentrations of major elements needed for resource exploration (such as H, Fe, Ti, Al, Mg, Ca, Si, K and Na) and mineral composition (such as water ice and ilmenite), at resolutions of up to 10 micrometres according to the project description. | None recorded here | In developmentLaunch not recordedWater ice, metals (general): targeted |
| Magna Petra HALO (Helium Availability of Lunar Origin) reconnaissance payloadPayload · ispace EUROPE S.A. | Measure low-molecular-weight lunar volatiles from a rover to investigate resources and help infer the presence of helium-3; direct isotope-specific detection is not established by NASA's description. | no earlier than 2026 (NASA)Recorded changes | In developmentLaunch not recordedHelium-3, volatiles: targeted |
| ORACLE lunar oxygen-extraction payload (Italian Space Agency)Payload · Italian Space Agency | Operate on the lunar surface a compact plant, at most 500 x 500 x 500 mm, that uses a carbothermal chemical-physical process to make accessible the oxygen held in oxides in lunar soil, as a field test of the feasibility and efficiency of extracting oxygen from lunar minerals. | None recorded here | In developmentLaunch not recordedOxygen: targeted |
| Prospect Moon (Interlune payload suite)Payload · Interlune | Compare thermal and mechanical release of solar-wind gases from regolith, measure gas concentrations, test grain-size sorting, and use multispectral proxy data to estimate helium-3 abundance. | 2027Recorded changes | In developmentLaunch not recordedHelium-3, volatiles, regolith: targeted |
| VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover)Payload on Blue Moon Mark 1 (second lander) - VIPER delivery · National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Search for and map volatile resources such as water ice at the lunar south pole during a 100-day surface mission. | No launch plan recordedRecorded changes | In developmentLaunch not recorded. Landing: Planned 2027 H2 (target)Water ice, volatiles: targeted |
| Masten Mission One (XL-1 lander, NASA CLPS task order TO19C)Spacecraft · Masten Space Systems, Inc. | Deliver and operate NASA instruments to characterize south-polar surface composition and volatiles, including hydrogen as an indicator of buried water, and (separately contracted) collect a regolith sample for sale to NASA. | 2022-11 (task-order launch date, NASA OIG)Recorded changes | CancelledLaunch: Former plan: 2023-11Historical. The mission was cancelled.Water ice, volatiles, regolith: targeted |
| Canadian Lunar Rover Mission (CSA Lunar Rover Mission, LRM)Payload · Canadian Space Agency | Explore the lunar south polar region, including briefly entering permanently shadowed regions, and measure hydrogen in the lunar soil as an indicator of water ice, contributing to the international search for water ice. | None recorded here | CancelledLaunch not recordedWater ice, volatiles: targeted |
| ESA lunar ISRU demonstration mission (oxygen-from-regolith payload; not flown)Payload · European Space Agency | Demonstrate on the lunar surface, end to end, that oxygen (or water) can be produced from lunar regolith, as a first step towards larger ISRU production. The payload concept that Thales Alenia Space says ESA selected in 2022 (its UK-led team) uses molten salt electrolysis to extract oxygen from regolith. | None recorded here | StalledLaunch not recordedOxygen, regolith: targeted |
| Moon Express MX-1E first lunar mission (Google Lunar XPRIZE attempt)Spacecraft · Moon Express, Inc. | Land a small commercial lander, hop 500 m and return imagery to meet Google Lunar XPRIZE rules, as the first step of a company plan aimed at lunar resources; no resource instrument was part of the announced flight. | 2017Recorded changes | StalledLaunch not recordedNo resource step recorded |
| Prospector-X (Deep Space Industries experimental nano-spacecraft, Luxembourg MoU 2016)Spacecraft · Deep Space Industries | Test, on a nano-spacecraft, several key enabling technologies for DSI's planned asteroid prospecting mission Prospector-1, as a risk-reduction demonstration for small-spacecraft asteroid exploration under Luxembourg's framework for the exploration and commercial use of asteroid resources (government release). The Nanosats Database lists optical navigation, a water-based propulsion system and one of Prospector-1's science payloads among the subsystems to be demonstrated. No resource measurement was part of the announced flight. | None recorded here | StalledLaunch not recordedNo resource step recorded |
Organizations recorded as dissolved, absorbed or dormant
5 organizationsEach amount is one recorded event. Amounts are not added together and may not be all the money involved. 16 organizations whose status this dataset has not established are not listed; unknown does not mean inactive.
| Organization | Status | Missions recorded | Amounts recorded | Status basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asteroid Mining Corporation | Dormantas of 2026-09-25 | None recorded | None recorded | Companies House record (overdue accounts, overdue confirmation statement, first Gazette notice for compulsory strike-off on 18 Aug 2026 later suspended) and a registrar placeholder on the company's former domain; inference of inactivity, not a formal dissolution. |
| Deep Space Industries | Absorbedas of 2019-01-02 |
| Acquisition release posted on DSI's own website (Internet Archive capture of 7 Jan 2019), corroborated by GeekWire. | |
| Masten Space Systems, Inc. | 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. | |
| Moon Express, Inc. | Dormantas of 2026-09-10 | None recorded | No launches, contracts or dated announcements found after the company's 9 Feb 2020 statement that it had no upcoming Rocket Lab launch and was focused on CLPS; NASA has awarded it no CLPS task order. Its website is still maintained (script bundle Last-Modified 2026-09-10) and names a COO, so no shutdown is recorded. 'Dormant' is an inference from absence of activity. | |
| Planetary Resources | Absorbedas of 2018-10-31 |
|
| The archived company announcement of 31 October 2018 reports an asset-purchase acquisition by ConsenSys, supporting absorbed status. GeekWire reported in May 2020 that ConsenSys Space had suspended operations and that hardware was scheduled for auction; primary confirmation of those later developments was not retrieved. |
Projects and programmes that have concluded
2 recordsGrant projects and prize programmes recorded as ended. They are listed apart from the organizations above because a project or prize that ends is not a company closing; each status basis says how it ended. Each amount is one recorded event.
| Project or programme | Status | Missions recorded | Amounts recorded | Status basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aqualunar Challenge (UK–Canada lunar water purification prize) | Concludedas of 2026-04-15 | None recorded | None recorded | Concluded programme. Challenge Works' Aqualunar page gives the dates 15/01/2024 - 30/05/2025 and says the challenge has been won (UK winners announced 27 March 2025); the Canadian Space Agency announced the Canadian grand-prize winner on 2026-04-15. No later round was found. |
| LUWEX consortium (Horizon Europe project 101081937) | Concludedas of 2025-07-08 | None recorded | None recorded | CORDIS fact sheet (last updated 8 July 2025, read 2026-10-29) marks the project closed, with an end date of 31 December 2024; the site shows a grant project as concluded once it closes; no separate statement that the partners ended their collaboration was found. Not a corporate-register check. |