NASA schedules 2027 CAPSTONE 02 lunar rendezvous test mission

NASA has awarded a contract to Advanced Space and Terran Orbital Systems to build two small spacecraft for the CAPSTONE 02 mission, targeted for launch in 2027. Each probe, about 400 kg, will enter a near‑rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon to demonstrate rendezvous, docking and formation‑flying maneuvers in the complex three‑body gravitational environment of Earth and the Moon.

The pair will alternate between “chaser” and “target” roles, testing navigation software, optical imaging payloads from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and communications systems that will be used in upcoming Artemis missions. CAPSTONE 02 is intended to validate the techniques needed for crewed transfers between cislunar orbit and the lunar surface, supporting NASA’s broader lunar‑infrastructure goals.