A series of NASA science investigations and technology demonstrations are traveling aboard commercial spacecraft to our nearest celestial neighbor, where they will gain insights into the moon's environment and test technologies to support future astronauts on the agency's Artemis mission Plan to safely land on the lunar surface.
Firefly Aerospace's first CLPS, or Commercial Lunar Payload Services, flight for NASA carries science and technology, with Blue Ghost Mission 1 launching aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:11 a.m. ET The launch was launched from the 39A launch site. The company aims to land on the moon on Sunday, March 2.
"This mission exemplifies the audacious spirit of NASA's Artemis program, a program driven by scientific exploration and discovery," said NASA Associate Administrator Pam Melroy. "We Every flight we participate in is an important step in the larger picture of establishing a responsible, sustained human presence on the moon, Mars and beyond. Every demonstration of scientific instrumentation and technology brings us closer. Congratulations to NASA, Firefly and SpaceX for achieving our vision. The team successfully launched.”
Once on the moon, NASA will test and demonstrate lunar drilling technologies, regolith (moon rock and soil) sample collection capabilities, global navigation satellite system capabilities, radiation-tolerance calculations and lunar dust mitigation methods. The data captured could also benefit humans on Earth by providing insights into how space weather and other cosmic forces affect our home planet.
"NASA is a world leader in space exploration, and American companies are a critical part of returning humans to the moon," said Nicola Fox, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "We at Apollo Many lessons were learned over the years that informed the technology and science demonstrations aboard the Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1 – ensuring the safety and security of our future scientific instruments, spacecraft, and most importantly, our astronauts on the lunar surface. Healthy. I'm excited to see Firefly's Blue Ghost Mission 1 Incredible scientific and technical data will be available in the coming days."
As part of NASA's modern lunar exploration campaign, CLPS missions to the moon will help humans better understand planetary processes and evolution, search for water and other resources, and support long-term, sustainable human exploration of the moon in preparation for the first human missions. Mars.
There were 10 NASA payloads on this flight:
- Lunar Instrument for Rapid Underground Thermal Exploration (LISTER) Heat flow from the lunar interior will be characterized by measuring thermal gradients and electrical conductivity in the lunar subsurface. It will use pneumatic drilling technology to take multiple measurements to a final depth of approximately 10 feet, and feature a custom thermal flow needle instrument at its tip. Lead Institution: Texas Tech University
- Lunar Planetary Vacuum Pump (LPV) Designed to collect regolith samples from the lunar surface, a stream of compressed gas is used to drive the regolith into a sample chamber for collection and analysis by a variety of instruments. Additional instruments will then transmit the results back to Earth. Lead organization: Bee Robotics
- Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector (NGLR) Serves as a target for a laser on Earth to accurately measure the distance between the Earth and the Moon. The retroreflector that will perform this mission can also collect data to understand aspects of the moon's interior and solve fundamental physics questions. Lead Institution: University of Maryland
- Regolith Adhesion Properties (RAC) will determine how lunar regolith adheres to a range of materials exposed to the lunar environment throughout the lunar day. The RAC instrument will use imaging to measure the rate of lunar regolith accumulation on the surfaces of a variety of materials, including solar cells, optical systems, coatings and sensors, to determine their ability to repel or shed lunar dust. The data captured will allow the industry to test, improve and protect spacecraft, spacesuits and habitats from abrasive regolith. Lead Organization: Aegis Aerospace Corporation
- Radiation Tolerant Computer (RadPC) A computer that can recover from failures caused by ionizing radiation will be demonstrated. Several RadPC prototypes have been tested on the International Space Station and Earth-orbiting satellites, but now will demonstrate the computer's ability to withstand space radiation as it travels through Earth's radiation belts, to the moon, and to the lunar surface. Lead Institution: Montana State University
- Electric Dust Cover (EDS) is an active dust control technology that uses electric fields to move and prevent dangerous lunar dust from accumulating on the surface. EDS technology is designed to lift, transport and remove particles from surfaces without moving parts. Multiple tests will demonstrate the feasibility of self-cleaning glass and radiator surfaces on the Moon. If the surface was not affected by dust during landing, the EDS is able to re-dust itself using the same technology. Lead organization: NASA Kennedy Space Center
- Lunar Environmental Heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI) A series of X-ray images will be captured to study the interaction of the solar wind and Earth's magnetic field, which drives geomagnetic disturbances and storms. Deployed and operating on the lunar surface, the instrument will provide the first global images showing the edges of Earth's magnetic field, providing insight into how space weather and other cosmic forces around our planet affect the planet. Lead organizations: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Boston University, and Johns Hopkins University
- Lunar Telluric Sounder (LMS) The structure and composition of the lunar mantle will be characterized by measuring electric and magnetic fields. This research will help determine the temperature structure and thermal evolution of the Moon to understand how it has cooled and chemically differentiated since its formation. Leading unit: Southwest Research Institute
- Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) The possibility of acquiring and tracking signals from global navigation satellite system constellations (especially GPS and Galileo) during a trip to the moon, in lunar orbit and on the lunar surface will be demonstrated. If successful, LuGRE will be the first pathfinder for future lunar spacecraft, using existing Earth navigation constellations to autonomously and accurately estimate their position, velocity and time. Lead organizations: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Italian Space Agency
- Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS) Stereoscopic imaging photogrammetry will be used to capture the impact of the rocket plume on the lunar regolith as the lander touches down on the lunar surface. The high-resolution stereo images will help create models that predict lunar regolith erosion, an important task as larger and heavier payloads are delivered to the moon in close proximity to each other. The instrument was also included in Intuitive Machine's first CLPS delivery. Lead organization: NASA Langley Research Center
"With 10 NASA science and technology instruments launched to the Moon, this is the largest CLPS delivery to date, and we are here to help us achieve this goal," said Chris Culbert, commercial lunar payload services program manager. The team is proud of the initiative at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "We will deliver more after this latest CLPS delivery in 2025 and beyond. U.S. innovation and interest in the Moon continue to grow, and NASA has awarded 11 CLPS deliveries and plans to continue selecting two more each year flight."
Firefly's Blue Ghost lander aims to land near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium, a more than 300-mile-wide basin in the northeastern quadrant of the near side of the moon. NASA's science arm on this flight will collect valuable scientific data studying Earth's nearest neighbor and help pave the way for the first Artemis astronauts to explore the lunar surface later this decade.
Learn more about NASA's CLPS program:
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Amber Jacobson/Karen Fox
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
amber.c.jacobson@nasa.gov / karen.c.fox@nasa.gov
Natalia Rusage/Nirufal Ramji
Johnson Space Center in Houston
281-483-5111
nataila.s.riusech@nasa.gov / nilufar.ramji@nasa.gov
Antonia Jaramillo
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-501-8425
Antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov