Pittsburgh's lunar mission gets a second life

🌕 Driving the news: North Side-based Astrobotic announced Wednesday it will deliver a new rover called FLIP (FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform) to the Moon's south pole this year after reaching an agreement with California-based Astrolab.

Catch up quick: NASA's VIPER payload was the original client for Astrobotic's Griffin Mission One, but the federal agency pulled out due to funding constraints, per Astrobotic.

What they're saying: "Losing VIPER could've been a setback, but Astrobotic didn't let up," said Sen. John Fetterman. "They rolled up their sleeves, found a new way forward, and made sure this mission stays on track."

Between the lines: FLIP's goal is to demonstrate and test technologies — like full-sized batteries, tires, critical avionics systems, sensors and software — to help advance a larger FLEX rover that SpaceX is set to launch in 2026.

Flashback: Astrobotic's first mission, Peregrine, failed to reach the Moon in January 2024 following a malfunction with that spacecraft's fuel tank. It was able to gather data during a lunar orbit.

🚀 State of play: Private companies started their own space race last year.

• Intuitive Machines' lander Odysseus became the first nongovernmental spacecraft to set down on the Moon in February 2024.

What's next: Griffin is scheduled for delivery at the end of 2025, according to Astrobotic.