WASHINGTON, D.C. — NASA awarded a contract to Advanced Space for the CAPSTONE 02 mission. The CAPSTONE 02 mission is targeted for launch in 2027.

The CAPSTONE 02 mission will use two identical small spacecraft in lunar orbit. The CAPSTONE 02 mission will demonstrate rendezvous and proximity operations. The CAPSTONE 02 mission will demonstrate cislunar communication capabilities.

The CAPSTONE 02 mission will characterize the radiation environment at the Moon. CAPSTONE 02 spacecraft will weigh approximately 400 kilograms (882 pounds) each, manufactured by Terran Orbital Systems, Inc. representing a 25% increase in mass compared to the original CAPSTONE spacecraft (300 kg).

Advanced Space has a history of SBIR/STTR program participation, including a NASA SBIR Phase III contract for CAPSTONE's autonomous positioning and navigation system, which was developed in collaboration with Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc. NASA awarded Advanced Space a $13.7 million contract in 2023 for the CubeSat Pathfinder Mission to a near rectilinear halo orbit, a precursor to CAPSTONE 02's technology demonstrations for lunar infrastructure.

CAPSTONE is an acronym for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment. The original CAPSTONE mission was the first U.S. commercial mission to the Moon. The original CAPSTONE mission was the first spacecraft to operate in a near rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon.

The original CAPSTONE mission arrived in lunar orbit on 14 November 2022. The original CAPSTONE mission completed its primary six-month orbit in the near-rectilinear halo orbit on 18 May 2023. The original CAPSTONE spacecraft is a 12-unit CubeSat.

The original CAPSTONE mission (2017-2022) validated cislunar autonomous navigation and communications systems, serving as the foundational technology for CAPSTONE 02's rendezvous and proximity operations demonstrations. Achieving our most ambitious space exploration goals requires iterative, risk-tolerant demonstrations in partnership with industry, said Christopher Baker, Lead of the In-Space Infrastructure portfolio within the Research and Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. Technology development through flight testing is how we convert hard problems into the lasting capabilities needed for a permanent presence at the Moon, he added.