Upcoming missions and documented developments

CNSA, 2026-08-19: the Chang'e-7 probe and Long March 5 Y14 were transferred to the launch area at Wenchang. CNSA, 2026-08-23: the China Manned Space Agency said the mission did not meet launch conditions and could not launch in that year's planned window. The 19 August line that a launch would be attempted in the coming days was overtaken on 23 August. The cited CNSA statement gives no replacement date. NARIT's own 24 August 2026 release reports postponement to 2027; that is a payload-partner statement, not a revised date in the CNSA notice. Phase 'manifested' means a named vehicle was assigned, not that a new window exists.

These mission records list water ice, volatiles or helium-3 as a target. A target is not a result; landers and their payloads may appear separately.

• METAL multispectral camera (Interlune / NASA Ames) on Griffin-1 — Manifested; Launch: Planned 2026 H2 (target)
  Plan and conditions

  Manifested: the 2025-08-05 joint Interlune/Astrolab release names the payload for Astrolab's FLIP rover (Astrolab operates the host rover). Rechecked 2026-10-28: NASA's 2026-10-20 rover update says FLIP flies on Griffin Mission One, scheduled to launch in late 2026, and NASA's Moon Base Phases page (updated 2026-10-08) still lists METAL among Griffin-1 payloads. Not launched as of 2026-10-28.

• Griffin Mission One (Griffin-1, NASA Moon Base II) — In development; Launch: Planned, no earlier than 2026-11
  Plan and conditions

  Scoped schedule review on 2026-11-01: Voyager's 13 July 2026 release targets launch no earlier than November 2026. NASA's 13 October testing report still gives late 2026, while Voyager's October report describes final preparations before shipment. The date field records the published earliest-month bound, not a confirmed November launch. No actual launch or fixed launch day is established, so the phase remains in development. Older NASA schedule and landing-site discrepancies remain open.

• Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 2 (Riders 2 the Dark) — In development; Launch: Planned, no earlier than 2027
  Plan and conditions

  Firefly's Blue Ghost Mission 2 page (rechecked 2026-10-28) lists it as an upcoming mission set to launch no earlier than 2027; NASA's Moon Base page for the mission describes the far-side delivery.

• Intuitive Machines IM-4 (Nova-C lander, NASA CLPS task order CP-22) — In development; Launch: Planned 2027 (target)
  Plan and conditions

  NASA's IM-4 page (now titled Moon Base: Intuitive Machines IM-4; rechecked 2026-10-28) lists the flight for 2027 to Mons Mouton; NASA's CP-22 science page names the six payloads. No launch vehicle or month is stated on those pages.

• PROSPECT (Package for Resource Observation, in-Situ Prospecting for Exploration, Characterisation & Testing) — Manifested; Launch: Planned 2027 (target)
  Plan and conditions

  ESA's 2026 video page (not reachable on 2026-10-28) and NASA's CP-22 page name PROSPECT on IM-4; NASA's IM-4 page, rechecked 2026-10-28, still lists 2027.

• Blue Moon Mark 1 (second lander) - VIPER delivery — In development; Landing: Planned 2027 H2 (target)
  Plan and conditions

  In development: NASA (2025-09-19 release; Moon Base Phases page last updated 2026-10-08 when read on 2026-10-29) says the second Blue Moon MK1 lander is in production and VIPER is scheduled to arrive in late 2027. That arrival target is recorded as the planned landing date; no launch date is stated. In an article published 2026-08-04 and updated 2026-08-05, NASA described the first MK1 lander, Endurance, as still in integrated testing, so it had not flown; no NASA page read states whether the VIPER delivery option has been exercised.

• VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) — In development; Landing: Planned 2027 H2 (target)
  Plan and conditions

  NASA release 25-064 (2025-09-19): the award base covers accommodation design and an offload demonstration, with delivery subject to a separate option. The late-2027 target is for landing; no primary launch date is established. Whether the delivery option has subsequently been exercised was not established in this review. NASA’s 20 October 2026 progress update also describes a 2027 lunar mission and a fully built rover undergoing final testing at Johnson Space Center. That update does not state that the delivery option has been exercised or establish a revised first-MK1 flight date; the conditional landing target remains as recorded.

• LUPEX / Chandrayaan-5 (Lunar Polar Exploration mission) — In development; Launch: Planned, no earlier than 2028
  Plan and conditions

  JAXA LUPEX page (rechecked 2026-10-28) gives launch 'No earlier than 2028' on an H3. ISRO's 2025-05-15 release says the Government of India's financial sanction was received on 10 March 2025; ThePrint (2026-07-30) reports interface-finalisation meetings.

• PROMISE (Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping, and In-Situ Exploration) — In development; Launch: Planned 2028 H2 (target)
  Plan and conditions

  NASA release 26-095 (7 November 2026) says the agency is moving forward with development and is targeting a late-2028 launch. An announced plan is not a flight or a measurement.

• Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 4 (NASA CLPS task order CS-6, lunar south pole) — In development; Launch: Planned, no earlier than 2029
  Plan and conditions

  NASA release 25-046 (2025-07-29) awarded the task order with landing targeted for 2029; Firefly's mission page (undated, accessed 2026-10-28) gives launch no earlier than 2029; Firefly's Q2 2026 results (SEC Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1, 2026-08-11) report completion of the Preliminary Design Review for the south-pole Blue Ghost mission. Not launched.

• ispace Mission 4 (ULTRA lander; formerly Mission 6) — In development; Launch: Planned 2029 (target)
  Plan and conditions

  ispace's mission page (rechecked 2026-10-28) and its 2026-03-30 statement give a 2029 launch; development began after the January 2026 Space Strategy Fund selection, and an 11.6 billion yen grant was awarded (announced 2026-08-07).

• MAGPIE (Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration) rover — Manifested; Launch: Planned 2029 (target)
  Plan and conditions

  Scoped transport-status review on 2026-11-01: ispace-EUROPE's July contract announcement includes transportation to the lunar surface in the funded full-mission delivery, and its September signing release explicitly assigns MAGPIE to ispace Mission 4 ULTRA in 2029. Manifested here means a named contracted carrier arrangement; it does not mean flight readiness, a launch-provider manifest or launch. The 2029 target is unchanged. Historical schedule review on 2026-11-04: ispace’s 10 September 2025 announcement targeted a 2028 launch window; its 2 September 2026 announcement schedules launch in 2029. The history date identifies that later announcement, not the date a schedule decision was made. This scoped history review does not renew the whole-record check date.

• MoonRanger micro-rover (Astrobotic / Carnegie Mellon University, Neutron Spectrometer System) — Manifested; Launch: Planned, no earlier than 2029
  Plan and conditions

  Manifested: 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 (msn-masten-mission-one, cancelled).

• Intuitive Machines CLPS south-pole delivery (2026 award, 2030 target) — Announced; Landing: Planned 2030 (target)
  Plan and conditions

  NASA award announcement of 2026-03-27, re-read 2026-10-17 and 2026-10-28; the stated 2030 date is a landing target, not a launch date. No mission name or lander build status is in the source reviewed.