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Comms & data
Links, relays, surface networks, and compute - moving data between Earth, orbit, and the surface.
Cargo Lonestar first lunar data-storage concept payload on IM-1. · IM-1 Odysseus · 2024-02-15 Qascom built the GNSS receiver hardware for LuGRE, which flew on Blue Ghost Mission 1. · Blue Ghost Mission 1 · 2025-01-15 Lonestar Freedom is a compact data-center payload that flew on IM-2. · IM-2 Athena · 2025-02-27 Space-hardened cellular network payload for lander↔surface UE links (MAPP / hopper). · IM-2 Athena · 2025-02-27 IM first lunar data-relay. · IM-3 Trinity · NET H2 2026 MoonLIGHT is ESA's next laser retroreflector. · IM-3 Trinity · NET H2 2026 INFN-LNF laser retroreflector array on the Chang'e-7 lander (CLARA: INRRI mini-array plus MoonLIGHT large CCR) for lunar laser ranging from orbit and Earth. · Chang'e-7 · NET August 2026 CNSA relay satellite element in Chang'e-7 multi-spacecraft architecture supporting polar/farside-adjacent comms. · Chang'e-7 · NET August 2026 Moon Pi is a compute payload from Stand Up Maths / Matt Parker, booked as cargo on Griffin-1. · Griffin-1 (Moon Base II) · NET late 2026 Named suppliers MMA Design and Vulcan Wireless for deployable RF-calibration antenna on Elytra supporting LuSEE-Night (CS-4). · Blue Ghost Mission 2 · NET 2027 NASA JPL's User Terminal is an S-band radio on Blue Ghost Mission 2. · Blue Ghost Mission 2 · NET 2027 A GNSS receiver on ESA's Lunar Pathfinder, funded with UKSA, tries to lock weak GPS and Galileo signals from Earth at the Moon. · Blue Ghost Mission 2 · NET 2027 Honeybee Robotics lunar rover on IM-5 Nova-D CT-4 suite (public suite imagery/description). · IM-5 Nova-D · NET ~2030 class Commercial sapphire-disc archival time capsule manifested on IM-5 path (not NASA science). · IM-5 Nova-D · NET ~2030 class Jobs Chang'e-5 lander Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar (LRPR) array radar for shallow subsurface structure to support drill/sampling site characterization. Mission Control Space Services flew an AI flight computer on Hakuto-R M1 to test onboard autonomy. ISRO ISTRAC IDSN network for Chandrayaan-3 tracking/TT&C. URSC lead: lander legs, rover ramp mechanisms, antenna/payload deploy. GHY-6 upgraded deep-space antenna in IM commercial Lunar Telemetry and Tracking Network for S-band TT&C. Commercial LTN multi-station network feeding Nova Control Houston for continuous lunar LOS TT&C on Nova-C missions. Lonestar first lunar data-storage concept payload on IM-1. Chang'e-6 is CNSA/CAST's first farside sample return. CNSA Queqiao-1 Earth-Moon L2 halo relay - heritage farside comms architecture preceding Queqiao-2 / CE-6. CNSA Queqiao-2 lunar relay satellite - critical enable for farside landing/ascent comms on Chang'e-6. Two Firefly gimbals pointed X-band antenna and selected payload apertures (LuGRE, LEXI, NGLR) on the top deck. Swedish Space Corporation ran the ground stations for Blue Ghost Mission 1, the only public ground network named on that flight. Swedish Space Corporation sole ground-station communications provider for Blue Ghost M1 transit and surface ops (Santiago, Hawaii, Australia + partners). Lonestar Freedom is a compact data-center payload that flew on IM-2. Nokia's Lunar Surface Communications System is a space-hardened cellular network. NASA STMD Tipping Point support for Nokia lunar 4G/LTE surface network demo on IM-2 (~$14.1M class public). Intuitive Machines first lunar data-relay satellite. ESA Moonlight Lunar Communications and Navigation Services constellation - future enable for commercial lander PNT/comms. Intuitive Machines lunar relay / Near Space Network services path for multi-mission lunar comms enable. MoonLIGHT is ESA's next laser retroreflector. Intuitive Machines Nova-C Trinity lander delivery for IM-3. CNSA Chang'e-7 polar orbiter segment of multi-element south pole suite (orbiter + lander + rover + hopper + relay class). CNSA relay satellite element in Chang'e-7 multi-spacecraft architecture supporting polar/farside-adjacent comms. INFN-LNF CLARA on the Chang'e-7 lander: INRRI mini-retroreflector plus MoonLIGHT large CCR for lunar laser ranging. Mission Control Space Services BEACON autonomy stack with Astrobotic CubeRover 2U-class mobility on Griffin-1 VIPER-class path. Moon Pi is a compute payload from Stand Up Maths / Matt Parker, booked as cargo on Griffin-1. CAPSTONE is a NASA CubeSat, operated by Advanced Space, that flew the near-rectilinear halo orbit planned for Gateway. NASA CLPS CS-4 ~$18M TO (Sep 2023) for Firefly Elytra RF calibration services from lunar orbit supporting LuSEE-Night. Elytra Dark is Firefly's orbital tug on Blue Ghost Mission 2. Named suppliers MMA Design and Vulcan Wireless for deployable RF-calibration antenna on Elytra supporting LuSEE-Night (CS-4). NASA JPL's User Terminal is an S-band radio on Blue Ghost Mission 2. ESA/SSTL commercial lunar comms relay deployed with Blue Ghost Mission 2 / Elytra orbital segment. LBNL builds LuSEE-Night deployable monopole antenna subsystem for Dark Ages radio science on BG-M2. LuSEE-Night is a low-frequency radio astronomy instrument from Brookhaven, LBNL, and UC Berkeley. SpaceX Updates: fabricating a flight-article Starship HLS cabin with functional avionics and power, crew systems and mechanisms, ECLSS, cabin/crew. NASA: MoonFall drones travel aboard Firefly Elytra, which deploys them during descent. Intuitive Machines Space Data Network / autonomous surface ops capabilities public as part of IM-5 Nova-D delivery infrastructure. ispace-U.S. Flights Chang'e-5 2020-11-23 · CNSA national lunar sample-return (near side). Hakuto-R Mission 1 2022-12-11 · Private Japanese lander. Chandrayaan-3 2023-07-14 · ISRO national soft-landing mission near lunar south polar highlands. IM-1 Odysseus 2024-02-15 · IM-1 Odysseus (TO2-IM): first commercial soft landing (Feb 2024). Chang'e-6 2024-05-03 · CNSA national far-side lunar sample-return via Queqiao-2 relay. Blue Ghost Mission 1 2025-01-15 · Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1 (TO19D ~$93.3M): Falcon 9 launch 2025-01-15 · soft landing (upright) Mare Crisium 2025-03-02 · all 10 NASA. IM-2 Athena 2025-02-27 · IM-2 Athena (PRIME-1 path): south polar attempt (Mar 2025). IM-3 Trinity NET H2 2026 · Intuitive Machines IM-3 (CLPS CP-11): Nova-C Trinity - NASA Moon Base III. Chang'e-7 NET August 2026 · CNSA south-pole complex (orbiter, lander, rover, hopper) focused on water-ice and polar environment. Griffin-1 (Moon Base II) NET late 2026 · Astrobotic / Voyager Lunar Systems Griffin Mission One - NASA Moon Base II. CAPSTONE 02 NET 2027 · NASA CAPSTONE 02 - two identical ~400 kg-class smallsats (Terran Orbital bus. Blue Ghost Mission 2 NET 2027 · Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 2 (CS-3 ~$112M, charter-bg2): planned far-side dual-stack (Blue Ghost stacked on Elytra Dark + ESA Lunar. IM-4 NET ~2027 · Six NASA science payloads to Mons Mouton / south polar highlands. Artemis III NET 2027 · First crewed Artemis lunar landing architecture (SLS + Orion + HLS). Starship Lunar Cargo (HLS path) NET late 2020s-2030s (HLS path) · SpaceX Starship lunar architecture: NASA HLS crew lander path (Option A/B) plus heavy cargo configurations. IM-6 (Moon Base CS-8) NET ~2028 (CS-8 Moon Base) · 2028 Moon Base batch. MoonFall NET 2028 · NASA JPL MoonFall - four propulsive hop drones survey the lunar south pole. Artemis IV NET 2028 · National crewed lunar landing architecture after Artemis III. IM-5 Nova-D NET ~2030 class · First cargo-class Nova-D CLPS. CP-12 Draper / ispace APEX Cancelled · Draper APEX 1.0 far-side CLPS award (CP-12) - cancelled July 2026.