Firefly’s award of $177 Million from NASA for mission to the Moon’s South Pole – SatNews

Firefly Aerospace, a market main area and protection expertise firm, was awarded a $176.7 million NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract to ship 5 NASA-sponsored payloads to the Moon’s south pole in 2029. The mission will make the most of Firefly’s Elytra orbital car and Blue Ghost lunar lander to allow payload operations that embody evaluating the Moon’s south pole sources, corresponding to hydrogen, water, and different minerals, and finding out the radiation and thermal surroundings that would have an effect on future astronauts and lunar infrastructure.

“Firefly is honored to support another NASA CLPS task order as a proven, reliable partner for robotic missions to the Moon,” mentioned Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. “Following our first Blue Ghost mission that made history just a few months ago, this bold Firefly team proved we have the right mix of grit, innovation, and dedication to not only stick the landing, but also complete all scientific objectives for our payload partners. We’ve set the bar high, and we aim to continue setting new records in our missions to come with our active production line of Blue Ghost landers.”

During Blue Ghost Mission 4 operations, Firefly’s Elytra Dark switch car will first deploy the Blue Ghost lander into lunar orbit and stay on orbit to supply a long-haul communications relay for the mission. Blue Ghost will then land within the Moon’s south pole area, deploy the rovers, and allow payloads operations with knowledge, energy, and communications companies for greater than 12 days on the lunar floor.

The NASA-sponsored payloads onboard Blue Ghost embody two rovers – the MoonRanger rover and a Canadian Space Agency rover – in addition to a Laser Ablation Ionization Mass Spectrometer (LIMS), a Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA), and the Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS), which additionally flew on Blue Ghost Mission 1. These payloads will assist uncover the composition and sources out there on the Moon’s south pole, advance lunar navigation, consider the chemical composition of lunar regolith, and additional research the results of a lander’s plume on the Moon’s floor throughout landings.

Following Blue Ghost Mission 4 operations, Elytra Dark will stay operational in lunar orbit for greater than 5 years in assist of Firefly’s Ocula lunar imaging service. The mission allows a 3rd Elytra Dark in Firefly’s rising constellation to supply prospects with sooner revisit instances for lunar mapping, mission planning, situational consciousness, and mineral detection companies. The first two Elytra Dark autos will launch as a part of Blue Ghost Mission 2 to the far aspect of the Moon in 2026 and Blue Ghost Mission 3 to the Gruithuisen Domes in 2028.

“Firefly’s Elytra Dark spacecraft are great companions for Blue Ghost – they’re highly maneuverable vehicles built with the same flight-proven components and propulsion system that successfully landed Blue Ghost on the Moon,” mentioned Chris Clark, Vice President of Spacecraft. “As our Elytra constellation continues to grow in lunar orbit, Firefly is in a unique position to provide lunar imaging services and a communications relay for missions anywhere on the Moon’s surface. And with extra payload capacity on both Elytra and Blue Ghost, we invite additional government and commercial customers to join our fourth mission that’s built upon the same reliable architecture and led by the same trusted team.”

Customers interested by becoming a member of Blue Ghost Mission 4 can discover extra info at and people interested by Firefly’s Ocula lunar imaging companies can discover extra particulars at https://fireflyspace.com/ocula/.