Draper Lunar Lander

Description

The Draper Lunar Lander (CP-12) is a mission currently scheduled to touch down in the Schrödinger basin on the lunar far side in 2026. It will carry three NASA-sponsored science payloads to make geophysical measurements. The Draper Lunar Lander is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, in which NASA contracts with a commercial partner, in this case Draper Laboratories, that provides the launch and lander.

The mission will make use of the ispace technologies APEX 1.0 lander and involve relay satellites in order to allow communication with Earth from the far side of the Moon. Schrodinger basin, a large impact crater near the Moon's south pole, shows evidence of geologically recent volcanic activity. The science payload to be landed there includes seismometers, a drill to allow emplacement of heat flow and electrical conductivity probes, and instruments to study the magnetic field and surface weathering.

Launch, from Kennedy Space Center on a Falcon 9, is currently scheduled for 2026. The ispace APEX 1.0 lander has the capability of bringing 300 kg of payload to the lunar surface and deploying relay satellites into orbit.

For more on the CLPS initiative and missions, see:

https://science.nasa.gov/lunar-discovery/deliveries