Missions to the lunar south pole
Dive to the south poleOpen the live view
23 mission records in this dataset name the lunar south polar region. 10 are placed at three named features south of 80°S (Mons Mouton, Cabeus crater and Haworth crater), 12 have no point because they name only the region or a site that cannot be drawn, and 1 is an orbiter aimed at it. 15 of the 23 are not yet launched.
The records give no boundary for the region. The polar view below starts at 80°S only because that is the edge of the drawing; it is not the region's limit. Water ice in permanently shadowed craters is the main reason missions go there: see Lunar water: uses, evidence, and missions.
South polar view
Measuring tool (3D)
Heights from the LOLA south polar elevation grid LDEM_75S_240M (LRO LOLA team, NASA Planetary Data System), averaged to 960 m cells; cells beyond 80°S are faded. Heights exaggerated ×2 by default; lighting is illustrative. Pins stand at the same positions as the polar view above: named-feature centres, not landing points. Rendered with three.js 0.184.0 (MIT licence).
- Mons Mouton7 mission records, 3 not yet launched
- Cabeus crater1 mission record, none still planned
- Haworth crater2 mission records, 2 not yet launched
Not yet launched
15 recordsEvery record on this page that has not flown, nearest planned date first. Planned dates are stated targets and often slip; records without one come last.
Named sites south of 80°S
10 recordsEach sits at the centre of an IAU-named feature. The records placed there name it in their own target site.
South polar region only: no plotted site
12 recordsThese records name only the lunar south polar region, a site that is not an IAU-approved name, or a site on which the record's own sources disagree. No point is drawn for them.
| Mission | Target site in the record | Why there is no point | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Moon Mark 1 (second lander) - VIPER delivery | Lunar South Pole region | The record names only the lunar south polar region. | In development |
| Canadian Lunar Rover Mission (CSA Lunar Rover Mission, LRM) | lunar south polar region | The record names only the lunar south polar region. | Cancelled |
| Chang'e-7 | Lunar south polar region | The record names only the lunar south polar region. | Manifested |
| Chang'e-8 | Leibnitz-Beta Plateau, lunar south polar region | Leibnitz-Beta Plateau is not an IAU-approved feature name, so no centre is plotted. | In development · Planned 2029 (target) |
| Griffin Mission One (Griffin-1, NASA Moon Base II) | Nobile Crater region, lunar south pole (per NASA) | NASA names Nobile Crater, while Voyager's 22 October 2026 article says near Mons Mouton; no centre is plotted until the difference is resolved. | In development · Planned, no earlier than 2026-11 |
| Intuitive Machines CLPS south-pole delivery (2026 award, 2030 target) | Lunar south pole region | The record names only the lunar south polar region. | Announced |
| ispace Mission 4 (ULTRA lander; formerly Mission 6) | lunar south polar region (specific site not published) | The record names only the lunar south polar region. | In development · Planned 2029 (target) |
| LUPEX / Chandrayaan-5 (Lunar Polar Exploration mission) | Lunar south polar region (landing site being coordinated) | The record names only the lunar south polar region. | In development · Planned, no earlier than 2028 |
| MAGPIE (Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration) rover | lunar south polar region | The record names only the lunar south polar region. | Manifested · Planned 2029 (target) |
| Masten Mission One (XL-1 lander, NASA CLPS task order TO19C) | lunar south pole | The record names only the lunar south polar region. | Cancelled |
| METAL multispectral camera (Interlune / NASA Ames) on Griffin-1 | Nobile Crater region, lunar South Pole (Griffin-1 landing site per NASA) | NASA names Nobile Crater, while Voyager's 22 October 2026 article says near Mons Mouton; no centre is plotted until the difference is resolved. | Manifested · Planned 2026 H2 (target) |
| PROMISE (Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping, and In-Situ Exploration) | Moon's South Pole; no specific site named | The record names only the lunar south polar region. | In development · Planned 2028 H2 (target) |
| Nothing recorded. | |||
Orbiters aimed at the south pole
1 recordOrbital missions whose records name the south polar region. They have no surface site.
| Mission | Target site in the record | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Lunar Flashlight | Permanently shadowed craters, lunar south pole (never reached) | Ended · outcome: Failure |
Other Moon sites
All lunar records, placed or not, are listed on the Moon map.
- Mare FrigorisMoon near side; 2 mission records, none still planned
- Atlas craterMoon near side; 1 mission record, none still planned
- Mons RümkerMoon near side; 1 mission record, none still planned
- Sinus ViscositatisMoon near side; 1 mission record, none still planned
- Mons LatreilleMoon near side; 1 mission record, none still planned
- Nassau craterMoon far side; 1 mission record, 1 not yet launched
- Apollo basinMoon far side; 1 mission record, none still planned
- Mons MoutonLunar south pole; 7 mission records, 3 not yet launched
- Cabeus craterLunar south pole; 1 mission record, none still planned
- Haworth craterLunar south pole; 2 mission records, 2 not yet launched
Cite this page
SpaceMiningData, “Missions to the lunar south pole”, dataset version a00fa2c68a45, built 2026-11-11, https://spaceminingdata.com/sites/lunar-south-pole.html. The records give the region no boundary, so no position is given for it.