NASA and Draper have terminated a Commercial Lunar Payload Services task order valued at $73 million after repeated delays pushed the mission's landing date to 2030 or 2031. The CP-12 mission was to deliver three science instruments to the moon's far side, including seismometers for the Farside Seismic Suite and thermal and electromagnetic measurement equipment. ispace-U.S., the American subsidiary of Japanese lunar lander developer ispace, was the primary contractor building the lander and confirmed the cancellation after NASA ended the task order due to lander redesign delays.
NASA awarded the task order in July 2022 with an original 2025 launch target, but the date slipped repeatedly as ispace-U.S. revised the lander design to fit NASA's payloads and changed engines twice -- most recently in May 2025. The agency paid $43 million of the $73 million contract value to Draper before termination. NASA stated it remains committed to flying the three science instruments on future CLPS landings through its Moon Base and Artemis programs. ispace said it plans to pursue business under the newer CLPS 2.0 contract vehicle for advanced lander missions.