Griffin Mission One by Astrobotic: status and timeline

Griffin Mission One

Infrastructure-class lander for NASA CLPS. Delivers scientific instruments, Astrolab FLIP rover, and cultural payloads to south polar region near Nobile Crater, supporting resource exploration and tech validation.

DeployStage 4 of 5

November 2026 launch on Falcon Heavy. Delivers Astrolab FLIP rover and international payloads to south pole.

Updated 2025Checked 10 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Integration and environmental testing completed

Griffin lander design and development begins2021Complete.
Integration and environmental testing completedTarget 2026Current milestone.
Launch on SpaceX Falcon HeavyTarget Nov 2026Not yet reached.
Lunar orbit insertion and landingTarget Dec 2026Not yet reached.
FLIP rover and payload operationsTarget 2027Not yet reached.

Most important updates

Upcoming

2026Integration and environmental testing completed (next)
Nov 2026Launch on SpaceX Falcon Heavy
Dec 2026Lunar orbit insertion and landing
Dec 2026Landing and south-pole operations
2027FLIP rover and payload operations

Current obstacles

Terrain hazards and landingNobile Crater region has boulders, scarps and craters. Limited Earth-based knowledge; sensor errors lead to mission loss.
Multi-team payload integrationDifferent power, thermal and interfaces from NASA, ESA and teams. Testing is schedule-critical.
Extreme cold regolithSouth polar soil is colder, harder and more abrasive. Wheels and radiators must survive extreme conditions.

Physics limits

Rover range in polar darknessFLIP uses solar panels but south pole is mostly dark except sunlit peaks. Range limited to tens of km, recharge hours per day.
Single lander, single landingGriffin delivers a fixed set of payloads in one landing. If critical equipment fails (rover, instruments, drill), the mission cannot redeploy hardware. Redundancy and reliability requirements are very stringent.

How it works

3 parts

Launch and transit

Falcon Heavy to lunar orbit

Launches from Kennedy Space Center, transits Earth-Moon space, executes lunar orbit insertion, then powered descent.

Precision landing

Hazard detection and divert

Onboard cameras and hazard detection identify safe zones in rough terrain. Autonomous divert avoids boulders and craters.

FLIP deployment

500 kg rover deployment

Lander deploys Astrolab FLIP rover (500 kg solar vehicle) for multi-km traversals carrying instruments and Nanofiche archive.

Spec sheet

Spec	Griffin Mission One
Lander height	~6 feet^R (reported)
Lander width	~15 feet^R (reported)
FLIP rover mass	500 kg^R (reported)
FLIP additional payload capacity	30 kg^R (reported)
Landing target	Nobile Crater region, south pole^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

2 updates

2025

Minor: Griffin enters final integration and environmental testingPressHardware

Jul 2024

Major: NASA cancels VIPER rover; Griffin Mission One reconfigured with FLIP roverPressRegulatory

About Astrobotic

The team behind Griffin Mission One

Astrobotic

Lunar lander, Griffin Mission One, CLPS

Pittsburgh aerospace robotics company founded 2007. Builds lunar landers and planetary systems. Won NASA CLPS contracts to deliver payloads to Moon, enabling commercial lunar logistics transition.

Peregrine lander failed January 2024 with propulsion anomaly. Now develops Griffin, infrastructure-class lander.
Griffin deploys Astrolab FLIP rover to south pole on Falcon Heavy, November 2026.
Voyager Technologies acquired Astrobotic in July 2026, integrating lunar logistics with Starlab space station.

astrobotic.com (opens astrobotic.com)Company profile →

Founded: 200719 yrs
Headquarters: United States
Status: Private
Valuation: private
Staff: ~130Jan 2023
Raised: $279M2 rounds
Last round: NASA CLPS (Griffin lander) · $200MJun 2020
Works in: SpaceflightMoon & deep space
Coverage: 1 program · 4 updateslatest 1 Jun 2026checked 10 Oct
Customers: NASA (opens nasa.gov)SpaceX (opens spacex.com)
Partners: Astrolab (opens astrolab.ai)
Acquired by: Voyager Technologies (opens voyagertechnologies.com)
People: John P. Thornton (opens astrobotic.com)CEORed Whittaker (opens en.wikipedia.org)Founder

Spec

Griffin Mission One

Lander height

~6 feet^R (reported)

Lander width

~15 feet^R (reported)

FLIP rover mass

500 kg^R (reported)

FLIP additional payload capacity

30 kg^R (reported)

Landing target

Nobile Crater region, south pole^R (reported)