Re-discovering our Moon: Wave of lunar missions to launch in 2025

Around a dozen lunar landers are set to touch down on the Moon in the coming year, as part of a broader effort to develop the technology needed to establish a permanent human presence on the lunar surface. This wave of missions reflects the increasing momentum in Moon exploration, much of it driven by NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

By funding spacecraft from private companies, the New Scientist magazine points out that CLPS combines NASA’s scientific goals with the ambitions of commercial and institutional customers, creating a fertile ground for innovation and progress.

“Longer term, [CLPS] is playing a big role in ushering in new commercial lunar technologies,” says Jana Spruce of Firefly Aerospace, a Texas-based launch company. “We’re seeing a broad range of interest from commercial companies, universities, and research institutes looking to demonstrate technologies that can help build the foundation of lunar infrastructure, unlock the Moon’s resources, and support research for a lasting presence on the Moon.”

The First Launches of 2025

Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander will kick off 2025’s lunar exploration activity with a launch slated for mid-January. The lander by the Texas-based private aerospace firm will carry a suite of instruments, including X-ray cameras, a lunar navigation system, and a drill designed to measure heat transmission in the Moon’s surface. Its mission exemplifies the dual focus on advancing lunar science and testing technologies for future missions.

Only shortly after, the IM-2 mission by Intuitive Machines, another CLPS project, will take to the skies. The company made history in 2024 as the first private firm to successfully land on the Moon, and the IM-2 mission aims to build on that success. The primary goal is to drill near the Moon’s south pole to collect and analyze subsurface ice, a potential resource for future human exploration. In addition to its main payload, IM-2 will deploy several smaller spacecraft, including a hopper rover to navigate difficult terrain, another rover to gather samples for NASA, and a satellite to maintain communication between all mission components and Earth.

Bethany Ehlmann of the California Institute of Technology, leader of a team working on the Lunar Trailblazer orbiter, which is part of the IM-2 mission, says, “We’re eager to collect science data that will provide high-resolution maps of water, minerals, and thermophysical properties to guide the next generation of landed missions.”

Later in the year, Intuitive Machines plans to launch IM-3 to investigate a peculiar magnetic phenomenon known as a lunar swirl. Additional CLPS missions will follow, each contributing to the growing understanding of the Moon’s environment and resources. 

Israel’s SpaceIL is preparing for a 2025 launch of Beresheet 2, a follow-up to the original Beresheet mission, which crashed on the Moon in 2019. This ambitious mission includes two landers to explore different regions and an orbiter to expand scientific data collection.

Looking Ahead to Crewed Exploration

Despite the flurry of activity, 2025 won’t see a crewed lunar landing. NASA’s Artemis II mission, which aims to fly a crew around the Moon without landing, has been delayed until 2026. The closest alternative is the planned uncrewed landing of SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System. This spacecraft is a precursor to its use in NASA’s Artemis III mission, which is set to carry astronauts to the lunar surface in 2027.

These upcoming missions represent critical steps in humanity’s journey to return to the Moon and establish a sustainable presence there. By combining government, commercial, and scientific efforts, the lunar exploration campaign is setting the stage for a new era of discovery and development on the Moon.

By Nazrin Sadigova