In an update released late yesterday on the status of its Artemis Moon base plans, NASA revealed that it is in discussions with Northrop Grumman to repurpose some of the hardware that company has built for the now-canceled Lunar Gateway space station for use as payloads to do technology demonstration tests near the lunar south pole.

NASA is working with Northrop Grumman to develop three technology demonstration payloads slated for delivery to the lunar surface. These demonstrations build on power and avionics hardware developed for the Gateway program’s HALO (Habitation And Logistics Outpost) module, now being repurposed following NASA’s shift from an orbital-focused lunar strategy to one centered on surface operations.

The initial demonstrations will test survive-the-night systems capable of enduring the Moon’s extreme conditions, including multi-day shadow periods. They also will test shared surface power infrastructure designed to support critical payloads or other Moon Base assets, along with essential avionics and power capabilities.

Based on this vague description, it appears the hardware will be sent to places near the pole where it can be exposed to extended periods without sunlight to see if it can survive.

The rest of the update described the status of the four unmanned lunar landers that NASA wants to launch before the end of the year — Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark-1, Voyager’s Griffin, Intuitive Machine’s Trinity Nova-C, and Firefly’s Blue Ghost. In all four cases, it appears that the landers are closing in on final assembly and testing, though whether all four will be ready to launch by December is unclear. Blue Moon remains the most questionable, mostly because its rocket, New Glenn, remains grounded and it is very uncertain it will be ready for launch by then.

Below is an updated list of all Artemis missions, as presently scheduled or confirmed.

NASA’s present Artemis program schedule:

• Late 2026:
• 4th quarter: Moon Base 1 (likely delayed): Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark-1 (dubbed Endurance) unmanned lunar lander demo flight, to be launched on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. Delayed due to the grounding of New Glenn following the May 28, 2026 static fire test explosion. Landing: South pole region.
• 4th quarter: Moon Base 2: The Griffin lander, built by Voyager (formerly Astrobotic), will be launched on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, and targeting the south pole region, Mons Mouton.
• 4th quarter: Moon Base 3: Intuitive Machine’s Trinity (Nova-C) lunar lander, will be launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and targeting the Reiner Gamma region near the equator.
• 4th quarter: Moon Base 3: Intuitive Machine’s Altus-1 lunar orbiter will be deployed prior to Trinity’s landing, acting as a communications relay satellite.
• 4th quarter: Firefly’s Blue Ghost mission 2, to be launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, and targeting the far side of the Moon.
• 4th quarter: Duel Starship/Superheavy launch to orbit to test refueling.
• 2027:
1st quarter: Demo unmanned mission of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark-2 manned lander: Likely delayed due to the grounding of New Glenn following the May 28, 2026 static fire test explosion. Landing: South pole region.
• 4th quarter: Artemis 3: Manned rendezvous and docking tests of Orion in Earth orbit with the manned lunar landers being built by SpaceX and Blue Origin. It remains to be seen if either will be ready.
• ? quarter: Capstone-2: Managed by Advanced Space, dual Terran Orbital satelites will test formation flying in lunar orbit.
• 2028:
• 1st quarter: Blue Origin unmanned Blue Moon Mark-1 delivering the first of two lunar rovers to the south pole.
• 1st quarter: Starship unmanned demo/cargo mission of human landing spacecraft, to south pole region.
• 2nd quarter: Artemis-4: A manned lunar landing, with Orion launched by SLS and either SpaceX’s Starship launched by Superheavy or Blue Origin’s Blue Moon launched by New Glenn. Targeting south pole region.
• 3rd quarter: Blue Origin unmanned Blue Moon Mark-1 delivering the second of two lunar rovers to the south pole.
• 4th quarter: Artemis-5: A manned lunar landing, with Orion launched by SLS and SpaceX’s Starship launched by Superheavy or Blue Origin’s Blue Moon launched by New Glenn. Targeting south pole region.
• By end of year: MoonFall: Four JPL hoppers delivered to lunar orbit by Firefly’s Elytra lunar orbiter, targeting the south pole region.
• By end of year: Voyager’s Peregrine lander, targeting the Gruithuisen Domes region on near side.
• By end of year: Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander, landing site not yet determined.
• By end of year:: Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander, landing site not yet determined.
• Date and specific mission as yet undetermined: Reconfiguration of a Mars rover equipment to be a lunar rover, dubbed Promise.
• Ispace’s unmanned Ultra lander, funded by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, launched on JAXA’s H3 rocket.
• 2029:
• Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander, launched on a Falcon 9 and targeting the south pole near Mons Mouton.
• Intuitive Machines first Nova-D lander, launch provider not yet determined, targeting the south pole region.
• Ispace’s unmanned Ultra lander, funded by Japan’s Space Strategy Fund, carrying ESA’s Magpie rover to the south pole.
• Possible missions:
• Cargo mission(s?) using Superheavy/Starship?
• Cargo mission(s?) using New Glenn/Blue Moon?
• Multiple unmanned robot mission(s?)?
• Manned mission(s?) using Superheavy/Starship?
• Manned mission(s?) using New Glenn/Blue Moon?
• 2030 and beyond:
• Possible missions:
• Cargo mission(s?) using Superheavy/Starship?
• Cargo mission(s?) using New Glenn/Blue Moon?
• Multiple unmanned robot mission(s?)?
• Manned mission(s?) using Superheavy/Starship?
• Manned mission(s?) using New Glenn/Blue Moon?