Masten Space Systems was an aerospace manufacturer startup company in Mojave, California (formerly in Santa Clara, California) that was developing a line of vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) rockets, initially for uncrewed research sub-orbital spaceflights and eventually intended to support robotic orbital spaceflight launches. In 2020, NASA awarded Masten a contract for a lunar lander mission; NASA was to pay Masten US$75.9 million for Masten to build and launch a lander called XL-1 to take NASA and other customer payloads to the south pole of the Moon. Masten Mission One would have been Masten's first space flight; it was scheduled for launch in November 2023. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 2022, and was later acquired by Astrobotic Technology in September 2022. Overview Masten Space Systems was a Mojave, California based rocket company that was developing a line of reusable VTVL spacecraft, and related rocket propulsion hardware. Masten Space Systems competed in the NASA and Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge X Prize in 2009, winning the level one second prize of US$150,000 and the level two first prize of US$1,000,000. On 2 November 2009, it was announced that Masten Space Systems had won first place in the level two category, with Armadillo Aerospace coming in second. Masten Space Systems was selected for the Lunar CATALYST initiative of the NASA on 30 April 2014. Masten was accepted to make a bid for NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program on 29 November 2018. Masten proposed to NASA that Masten would develop a lunar lander called XL-1 to take scientific payload to the Moon. NASA accepted this proposal to be assessed, whether it would be developed or not, as part of the CLPS program. NASA would later choose which of the bids made for CLPS program by the various companies eligible to bid for CLPS the agency would eventually fund for development. On 8 April 2020, it was announced that NASA had selected Masten's CLPS bid to be developed. NASA awarded Masten a $75.9 million contract to build, launch, land and operate their XL-1 Moon lander. The lander would take payload from NASA and other customers to the south pole of the Moon. Masten Mission One, the first XL-1 lander, was scheduled for launch in November 2023. Masten Space Systems filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 28, 2022. The company's assets were purchased for US$4.5 million by Astrobotic