Voyager's Griffin-1 Lunar Lander Completes Nearly Three Months of Environmental Testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Voyager Technologies' Griffin-1 lunar lander has completed nearly three months of environmental testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, according to a NASA JPL photo feature published on October 18. The tests, which ended in late September 2026, demonstrate that the spacecraft is prepared to face the harsh conditions of launch, its journey to the Moon and landing on the surface.
Its final trial was in JPL's historic 25-Foot Space Simulator, a thermal vacuum chamber listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its role in supporting historic missions including Ranger, Surveyor, Mariner and Voyager. On August 31, engineers used a crane to position the spacecraft in the chamber, where Griffin-1 alternately baked at up to 167 degrees Fahrenheit (75 degrees Celsius) and froze at temperatures as low as minus 148 F (minus 100 C). The yellow-striped box atop the lander simulates a payload that will later be attached: Astrolab's FLIP (FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform) rover.
Earlier trials included a mass-properties measurement on July 20, when the lander rotated rapidly on a special table so engineers could look for unexpected wobbles; electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic compatibility testing in an anechoic chamber on July 29; and acoustic testing on August 12, in which giant horns powered by compressed gaseous nitrogen blasted the spacecraft with up to 153 decibels inside a sealed chamber to mimic the roar of launch. Griffin-1 also endured vibration testing, during which hundreds of sensors monitored the spacecraft as a shaker table rattled it in three directions with increasingly intense force.
After the campaign, Griffin-1 was shipped back across the country to Voyager Lunar Systems' Pittsburgh facility for final assembly. Part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative within the Moon Base Program, Griffin-1 is expected to launch in late 2026 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, delivering more than 1,100 pounds (455 kilograms) of cargo — 10 payloads from six countries — to Nobile Crater near the lunar South Pole. Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages JPL for NASA. (GSM, from NASA JPL photo feature PIA26708)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：「格里芬-1」号月球着陆器在NASA喷气推进实验室接受环境测试。照片：NASA/JPL-Caltech，公共领域。Photo: the Griffin-1 lunar lander during environmental testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech, public domain.
