Griffin Mission One, also known as Griffin-1, is a robotic lunar-lander mission being developed by Astrobotic for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. The mission is designed to deliver scientific investigations, technology demonstrations, and other cargo to the lunar surface.

Griffin-1 is planned to carry more than 1,100 pounds (about 500 kilograms) of cargo. One of its major payloads is Astrolab’s FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform, a rover designed to demonstrate technologies for future lunar surface operations. NASA describes Griffin-1 as an infrastructure-class lander intended to support the delivery of larger and more capable lunar cargo.

The mission is part of NASA’s broader Moon Base effort, which focuses on developing technologies and infrastructure for sustained lunar operations. Griffin-1 will carry NASA investigations and technology demonstrations intended to study the lunar environment and test capabilities that could support future missions.

Courtesy of NASA and Voyager Technologies.

Falcon Heavy is designed and manufactured by SpaceX in Hawthorne, California. It is derived from the Falcon 9 vehicle and consists of a strengthened Falcon 9 first stage as a central core with two additional first stages as strap-on boosters.

Stats

Total launches: 13

Total landings: 22

Total reflights: 19

Specs

Height: 70m / 229.6ft

Width: 12.2m / 39.9ft

Mass: 1,420,788kg / 3,125,735lb

Payload to LEO: 63,800 kg / 140,660 lb

Payload to GEO: 26,700 kg / 58,860 lb

Payload to Mars: 16,800 kg / 37,040 lb

Falcon Heavy is powered by 27 Merlin engines across its three first-stage cores. The central core is structurally reinforced to withstand the loads created by the two side boosters.

The vehicle uses liquid oxygen and RP-1 as propellants. Its two side boosters separate from the center core during ascent and are designed to return for recovery, while the center core continues toward staging.

Falcon Heavy first launched on February 6, 2018, from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The demonstration flight carried a Tesla Roadster as its payload.

Photo courtesy of Jenny Hautmann for Supercluster.

Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) is a historic launch site located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Originally constructed in the late 1960s, LC-39A was designed to support the Apollo program, including the groundbreaking Apollo 11 mission that first landed humans on the Moon in 1969. The pad also played a crucial role in launching Skylab missions and was instrumental during the Space Shuttle era, including the launch of the first Space Shuttle, Columbia, on STS-1 in 1981.

In 2014, SpaceX leased LC-39A from NASA and undertook extensive refurbishments to adapt the pad for its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. These upgrades involved significant modifications to the pad's infrastructure to meet the requirements of SpaceX’s rockets. Since then, LC-39A has become a vital launch site for SpaceX, supporting a range of missions including crewed flights under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

Under SpaceX's management, LC-39A has been the site of several landmark events. It hosted the first Falcon 9 launch from the pad on March 30, 2017, and was the launch site for the historic Falcon Heavy debut on February 6, 2018, which was the most powerful rocket in operation at that time. Additionally, LC-39A was the launch site for the first crewed flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft on May 30, 2020, marking the first crewed spaceflight from U.S. soil since the end of the Shuttle program.

Today, LC-39A remains a critical asset for SpaceX, supporting both crewed and uncrewed missions. It continues to serve as a launch site for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets and is expected to play a central role in future missions, including those aimed at lunar exploration and beyond. The pad's rich history and ongoing significance highlight its importance in the broader context of space exploration.

Photo courtesy of Jenny Hautmann for Supercluster

Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) and Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40) are SpaceX booster landing pads located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. These landing zones are used for returning first-stage boosters from Falcon 9 and the side boosters of Falcon Heavy rockets. Either pad can support a single Falcon 9 landing, while both pads together allow simultaneous landings of Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters. They replaced the earlier Landing Zone 1 after its lease expired.

Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) is an 85-meter-wide circular landing pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It is located about 5 miles from LZ-40 and is used during missions that require two boosters to return to land.

Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40) is another circular landing pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was completed in 2025 and is located about 1,000 feet from Space Launch Complex 40, the launch site used by Falcon 9 rockets.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force.

SpaceX will discard the center core of the Falcon Heavy rocket.

The primary reason SpaceX does not attempt to recover the center core is to allow the Falcon Heavy to carry a greater amount of mass into orbit. This is particularly important for heavy geostationary satellites, which require the center core to be expended.

To minimize weight, the center core will have its landing legs and grid fins removed.

The planned landing site for Griffin Mission One is in the Nobile Region near the Moon’s South Pole, specifically at Nobile Crater. Astrobotic identifies the Nobile Region as the mission’s landing area, while NASA describes Griffin-1 as a mission to the Moon’s South Pole region.

The site is scientifically important because the lunar South Pole contains areas with unusual lighting and extremely cold, permanently shadowed regions. These conditions make the region valuable for studying the lunar environment and resources, including water-related resources. NASA has selected the broader area for lunar exploration because of its potential importance to future missions.

Astrobotic has also developed landing and navigation systems for Griffin-1 that are designed to help the spacecraft make a precise and safe landing. Its systems use terrain-relative navigation and hazard detection to identify features and hazards on the lunar surface during descent.

Courtesy of NASA and Astrobotic.