Lift! NASA sends science, technology to the moon on Firefly, SpaceX Flight

A number of NASA science studies and technology demonstrations are headed to our nearest celestial neighbor aboard a commercial spacecraft, where they will provide insight into the lunar environment and test technologies to support future astronauts landing safely on the lunar surface during the agency’s Artemis campaign . .

Bringing Science and Technology to Firefly Aerospace’s First CLPS, or Commercial Lunar Payload Services, Flight for NASA, Blue Ghost Mission 1 launched at 1:11 a.m. EST aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The company is aiming for a moon landing on Sunday, March 2.

“This mission embodies the bold spirit of NASA’s Artemis campaign – a campaign driven by scientific exploration and discovery,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “Each flight we are a part of is an important step in the larger plan to establish a responsible, sustainable human presence on the Moon, Mars and beyond. Each scientific instrument and technology demonstration brings us closer to realizing our vision. Congratulations The NASA, Firefly and SpaceX teams with this successful launch.”

Once on the Moon, NASA will test and demonstrate lunar drilling technology, regolith (lunar rock and soil) sample collection capabilities, global navigation satellite system capabilities, radiation-tolerant computing, and lunar dust suppression methods. The captured data can also benefit humans on Earth by providing insight 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 humanity to the Moon,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We learned many lessons during the Apollo era that informed the technology and science demonstrations aboard Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 — to ensure the safety and health of our future science instruments, spacecraft and, most importantly, our astronauts on the lunar surface. I’m excited to see the incredible science and technology data Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 will deliver in the coming days.”

As part of NASA’s modern lunar exploration activities, CLPS deliveries to the Moon will help humanity 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 mission to Mars.

There are 10 NASA payloads flying on this flight:

• Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity (LISTER) will characterize the heat flow from the Moon’s interior by measuring the thermal gradient and conductivity of the lunar subsurface. It will take several measurements to about a 10 foot final depth using pneumatic drilling technology with a custom heat flow needle instrument on the tip. Lead organization: Texas Tech University
• Lunar PlanetVac (LPV) is designed to collect regolith samples from the lunar surface using a burst of compressed gas to propel the regolith into a sample chamber for collection and analysis by various instruments. Additional instrumentation will then transmit the results back to Earth. Lead organization: Honeybee Robotics
• Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector (NGLR) serves as a target for lasers on Earth to accurately measure the distance between the Earth and the Moon. The reflector that will fly on this mission can also collect data to understand various aspects of the moon’s interior and solve fundamental physics questions. Lead organization: University of Maryland
• Regolith Adherence Characterization (RAC) will determine how the lunar regolith adheres to a variety of materials exposed to the lunar environment throughout the lunar day. The RAC instrument will measure accumulation rates of lunar regolith on the surfaces of several materials, including solar cells, optical systems, coatings and sensors through imaging to determine their ability to repel or shed lunar dust. The data collected will allow the industry to test, improve and protect spacecraft, spacesuits and habitats from abrasive regolith. Lead organization: Aegis Aerospace
• Radiation Tolerant Computer (RadPC) will demonstrate a computer that can recover from errors caused by ionizing radiation. Several RadPC prototypes have been tested aboard the International Space Station and Earth-orbiting satellites, but will now demonstrate the computer’s ability to withstand space radiation as it passes through Earth’s radiation belts while in transit to the Moon and on the lunar surface. Lead organization: Montana State University
• Electrodynamic Dust Shielding (EDS) is an active dust suppression technology that uses electric fields to move and prevent dangerous accumulation of lunar dust on surfaces. The EDS technology is designed to lift, transport and remove particles from surfaces without moving parts. More tests will demonstrate the feasibility of the self-cleaning glass and thermal radiator surfaces on the Moon. In the event that the surfaces do not receive dust during landing, the EDS has the option of dusting itself again using the same technology. Lead organization: NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
• Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Images (LEXI) will take a series of X-ray images to study the interaction between the solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field that drives geomagnetic disturbances and storms. Deployed and operated on the lunar surface, this instrument will provide the first global images showing the edge of Earth’s magnetic field for critical insight into how space weather and other cosmic forces around our planet affect it. Lead organizations: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Boston University, and Johns Hopkins University
• Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS) will characterize the structure and composition of the Moon’s mantle by measuring electric and magnetic fields. This study will help determine the Moon’s temperature structure and thermal evolution to understand how the Moon has cooled and chemically differentiated since it formed. Lead organization: Southwest Research Institute
• Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) will demonstrate the ability to acquire and track signals from Global Navigation Satellite System constellations, specifically GPS and Galileo, during transit to the Moon, during lunar orbit and on the lunar surface. If successful, LuGRE will be the first pathfinder for future lunar spacecraft to use existing ground-based navigation constellations to autonomously and accurately estimate their position, speed and time. Lead organizations: NASA Goddard, Italian Space Agency
• Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS) will use stereo image photogrammetry to capture the impact of rocket plumes on the lunar regolith as the lander descends on the lunar surface. The high-resolution stereo images will help create models to predict lunar regolith erosion, an important task as larger, heavier payloads are delivered to the Moon in close proximity to each other. This instrument also flew on Intuitive Machine’s first CLPS delivery. Lead organization: NASA’s Langley Research Center

“With 10 NASA science and technology instruments launching to the Moon, this is the largest CLPS delivery to date, and we’re proud of the teams that got us to this point,” said Chris Culbert, program manager for Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “We will follow this latest CLPS delivery with more in 2025 and beyond. American innovation and interest in the Moon continues to grow, and NASA has already awarded 11 CLPS deliveries and plans to continue selecting two more flights per year. “

Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander is targeted to land near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille in the Mare Crisium, a more than 300-kilometer-wide basin located in the northeastern quadrant of the Moon’s near side. NASA science 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 initiative at:

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Amber Jacobson / Karen Fox
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
[email protected] / [email protected]

Natalia Riusech / Nilufar Ramji
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
[email protected] / [email protected]

Antonia Jaramillo
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-501-8425
[email protected]