WASHINGTON, March 2,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Carrying a suite of NASA science
and technology, Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1
successfully landed at 3:34 a.m. EST on
Sunday near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille
within Mare Crisium, a more than 300-mile-wide basin located in the
northeast quadrant of the Moon's near side.
The Blue Ghost lander is in an upright and stable configuration,
and the successful Moon delivery is part of NASA's CLPS (Commercial
Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign. This is
the first CLPS delivery for Firefly, and their first Moon
landing.
The 10 NASA science and technology instruments aboard the lander
will operate on the lunar surface for approximately one lunar day,
or about 14 Earth days.
"This incredible achievement demonstrates how NASA and American
companies are leading the way in space exploration for the benefit
of all," said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro. "We have already learned many
lessons – and the technological and science demonstrations onboard
Firefly's Blue Ghost Mission 1 will improve our ability to not only
discover more science, but to ensure the safety of our spacecraft
instruments for future human exploration – both in the short term
and long term."
Since launching from NASA's Kennedy
Space Center in Florida on
Jan. 15, Blue Ghost traveled more
than 2.8 million miles, downlinked more than 27 GB of data, and
supported several science operations. This included signal tracking
from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) at a
record-breaking distance of 246,000 miles with the Lunar GNSS
Receiver Experiment payload – showing NASA can use the same
positioning systems on Earth when at the Moon. Science conducted
during the journey also included radiation tolerant computing
through the Van Allen Belts with the Radiation-Tolerant Computer
System payload and measurements of magnetic field changes in space
with the Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder payload.
"The science and technology we send to the Moon now helps
prepare the way for future NASA exploration and long-term human
presence to inspire the world for generations to come," said
Nicky Fox, associate administrator
for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "We're sending these payloads by
working with American companies – which supports a growing lunar
economy."
During surface operations, the NASA instruments will test and
demonstrate lunar subsurface drilling technology, regolith sample
collection capabilities, global navigation satellite system
abilities, radiation tolerant computing, and lunar dust mitigation
methods. The data captured will benefit humanity by providing
insights into how space weather and other cosmic forces impact
Earth.
Before payload operations conclude, teams will aim to capture
imagery of the lunar sunset and how lunar dust reacts to solar
influences during lunar dusk conditions, a phenomenon first
documented by former NASA astronaut Eugene
Cernan on Apollo 17. Following the lunar sunset, the lander
will operate for several hours into the lunar night.
"On behalf of our entire team, I want to thank NASA for
entrusting Firefly as their lunar delivery provider," said
Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace.
"Blue Ghost's successful Moon landing has laid the groundwork for
the future of commercial exploration across cislunar space. We're
now looking forward to more than 14 days of surface operations to
unlock even more science data that will have a substantial impact
on future missions to the Moon and Mars."
To date, five vendors have been awarded 11 lunar deliveries
under CLPS and are sending more than 50 instruments to various
locations on the Moon, including the lunar South Pole. Existing
CLPS contracts are indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity
contracts with a cumulative maximum contract value of $2.6 billion through 2028.
Learn more about NASA's CLPS initiative at:
https://www.nasa.gov/clps
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SOURCE NASA