Astrolab Announces NASA Payloads for Upcoming Mission to the Moon

Astrolab, the ultimate in planetary mobility, led by Jaret Matthews and the team, has announced NASA payload customers for its first lunar mission aboard the company’s FLIP (FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform) rover.

FLIP will fly aboard Griffin-1 lander under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, which supports missions to the Moon’s south pole as part of the Artemis campaign.

The mission is scheduled for late 2026 and will mark FLIP’s lunar debut, carrying NASA payloads and collecting operational data to support future Artemis missions.

NASA payloads aboard FLIP include instruments from multiple centers supporting lunar science, navigation, and surface characterization.

These include NASA Ames’ METAL system for lunar resource assessment, Goddard’s Laser Retroreflector Array for precision positioning, Johnson’s dust and surface effects sensor for studying lunar environmental impacts, and Marshall’s LiDAR system for high-resolution 3D mapping and hazard detection.

“We’re honored to deliver NASA’s instruments to the lunar surface,” said Jaret Matthews, founder and CEO of Astrolab. “With FLIP, we can provide a mobile platform for multiple NASA investigations in a single mission, helping advance preparations for Artemis lunar exploration.”

Unlike larger rover platforms, FLIP is specifically designed to operate without a deployment ramp, enabling direct egress from the top of the lander. This innovation reduces mission complexity and enables a wider range of landing configurations.

In addition to delivering payloads, FLIP will collect valuable engineering data and operational experience that will inform the development of Astrolab’s larger Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) rover, which is being designed to support future Artemis missions and commercial operations on the Moon.