Masten Mission 1: Lander Name & Patch Reveal  

 

As you all know by now, Masten is landing on the Moon in 2023! Masten Mission 1 will be the first of many Masten missions to the lunar surface and beyond. And this first mission is kind of a big deal…it will serve as a critical step in NASA’s Moon-to-Mars roadmap and help lay the foundation for future human missions. 

Our lunar lander (configuration XL-1) will supply the ride for this important mission, carrying payloads for both NASA and commercial customers. So, it’s about time we give XL-1 an official name and mission patch.

So, without further ado, meet Xelene (pronounced zuh-leen)!

She was named after the Greek Moon goddess, Selene, but in true Masten fashion, we swapped the first letter for an X. The story goes that Selene was responsible for controlling the movement of the Moon and lighting up the night sky for those on Earth.  Similar to Selene, Masten also aims to benefit humans on Earth by unlocking the value in space.

Check out the Masten Mission 1 patch!  

For this patch, we focused on Xelene’s lunar descent because let’s be honest… Masten is known for sticking the landing. We have more than 600 successful rocket-powered flights under our belt, often landing within centimeters of the desired position. 

Learn more about Xelene!