Race to the Moon · United States
Official target, as worded: 2027 (NASA, 20 Oct 2026; late 2027 in Sep 2025), conditional. Blue Moon MK1 #2 with VIPER is a lander + rover mission in the CLPS programme by Blue Origin / NASA, counted under United States.
Data reviewed against sources as of · All dates UTC unless a local time is shown
VIPER was cancelled in July 2024 and conditionally revived on 19 Sep 2025. The base task order covers design and demonstration; NASA "will make the decision to exercise that option after the execution and review of the base task and of Blue Origin’s first flight of the Blue Moon MK1 lander", which has slipped to early 2027. On 20 Oct 2026 NASA said VIPER "will embark on a mission to the lunar South Pole region in 2027" and that the rover is "fully built and undergoing final testing"; no decision to exercise the option has been announced. $190M is the total potential value.
Official target, as worded: 2027 (NASA, 20 Oct 2026; late 2027 in Sep 2025), conditional.
Blue Moon MK1 #2 with VIPER is a lander + rover mission in the CLPS programme by Blue Origin / NASA, counted under United States.
Scheduled. VIPER was cancelled in July 2024 and conditionally revived on 19 Sep 2025.
Found an error? Tell us; corrections are logged on the method page.
Week in Space Data, every Friday.