Astrobotic Unveils Griffin Lander for NASA's Moon Base II Mission
"The first infrastructure-class lander going to the surface of the moon" – Astrobotic CEO John Thornton
Griffin Lander Revealed
Astrobotic publicly unveiled its Griffin lunar lander on June 15, 2025. NASA has selected this lander for the Moon Base II mission, a key component of the agency's first phase in establishing a permanent lunar outpost.
Mission Timeline & Integration
- Griffin-1 is scheduled for launch in late 2026 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
- The lander will deliver payloads under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, including the FLIP rover from Astrolab.
- Integration at Astrobotic's headquarters is expected to complete this week.
- Following integration, the lander will be transported to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for environmental testing.
- After testing, it will be delivered to Florida, where the FLIP rover will be integrated before launch.
Specifications & Cost
Griffin is significantly larger than Astrobotic's earlier Peregrine lander:
Context: Peregrine Mission One
Astrobotic's first NASA CLPS flight, Peregrine Mission One, experienced a propellant leak in January 2024 and ultimately did not reach the moon.
Payloads on Griffin-1
The mission will carry 10 payloads from six nations, plus four additional NASA payloads aboard the FLIP rover. Payloads include:
- Astrobotic's BEACON CubeRover
- European Space Agency's LandCam-X
- A plaque from Nippon Travel Agency featuring messages from Japanese children
- The Galactic Library to Preserve Humanity from Nanofiche
- A MoonBox capsule containing items on micro SD cards