XL 1 (MM 1, CLPS 4)

XL 1 [Masten Space Systems]

XL 1 is a lunar lander privately developed by Masten Space Systems.

In January, Masten Space Systems' XL 1 was selected by NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program to deliver eight payloads – with nine science and technology instruments – to the lunar surface near the south pole by December 2022.

The nine instruments to be delivered are:

• Lunar Compact Infrared Imaging System (L-CIRiS) will deploy a radiometer – a device that measures infrared wavelengths of light – to explore the Moon's surface composition, map its surface temperature distribution, and demonstrate the instrument's feasibility for future lunar resource utilization activities.
• Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometer (LETS) is a sensor that will measure the radiation environment on the Moon's surface. The payload also is being flown on a CLPS flight to the Moon in 2021.
• Heimdall is a flexible camera system for conducting lunar science on commercial vehicles. This innovation includes a single digital video recorder and four cameras: a wide-angle descent imager, a narrow-angle regolith imager, and two wide-angle panoramic imagers. This camera system is intended to model the properties of the Moon's regolith – the soil and other material that make up the top layer of the lunar surface – and characterize and map geologic features. Other goals for this instrument include characterizing potential landing or trafficability hazards.
• MoonRanger is a small robotic rover that weighs less than 30 pounds and will demonstrate communications and mapping technologies. It will demonstrate the ability to move quickly across long distances on the lunar surface with autonomous navigation and without the ability to communicate with Earth in real time. It is a technology that could enable exploration of destinations that are far from lunar landing sites. The MoonRanger will carry the Neutron Spectrometer System, which will measure the concentration of hydrogen in the Moon's regolith – a possible indication of the existence of buried water.
• Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) is a device to measure potentially accessible resources on the Moon's surface. It will identify gases coming off a lander during touchdown on the lunar surface to help scientists understand what elements are coming from the lunar surface and which ones are introduced by a lander itself.
• Near-Infrared Volatile Spectrometer System (NIRVSS) is a tool to measure surface composition and temperature. The instrument will characterize the variability of the lunar soils and detect volatiles such as methane, carbon dioxide, ammonia and water.
• Sample Acquisition, Morphology Filtering, and Probing of Lunar Regolith (SAMPLR) is a robotic arm that will collect samples of lunar regolith and demonstrate the use of a robotic scoop that can filter and isolate particles of different sizes. The sampling technology makes use of a flight spare from the Mars Exploration Rover project.
• Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) is a series of eight small mirrors to measure distance and support landing accuracy. It requires no power or communications from the lander and can be detected by future spacecraft orbiting or landing on the Moon.

In August 2020, a SpaceX Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) has been selected to launch it in December 2022. Due to COVD-19 related factors, the launch date was delayed to November 2023.