Astrolab has outlined the NASA science payloads that will fly on its first lunar rover mission, a commercial flight to the Moon’s south pole planned for late 2026. The company’s FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform (FLIP) rover is scheduled to launch aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin-1 lander under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.
According to Astrolab and NASA documentation, FLIP will operate as a mobile science platform, carrying four primary NASA-developed payloads. NASA’s Ames Research Center is providing the Moon Exploration for Titanium with Active Lighting (METAL) instrument, which combines a multicolor camera and radiometer to estimate helium-3 concentrations in lunar regolith. The isotope is of interest as a potential fuel source for future fusion energy.
NASA’s Johnson Space Center is contributing the Lunar Dust level sensor and Effects on Surfaces (LDES) payload to measure how abrasive lunar dust accumulates on solar arrays and radiators and degrades their performance. From NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, a Lunar LiDAR Demonstration will generate high-resolution 3D maps of the terrain to support safer navigation and hazard detection.
Rounding out the suite, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center is supplying a laser retroreflector array that will allow highly precise tracking of the rover’s position from orbit. The passive device is expected to remain on the surface as a long-term geodetic reference point for future lunar operations.