As part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and Artemis campaign, the agency is preparing to fly ten instruments to the Moon aboard Firefly Aerospace’s first delivery. These science payloads and technology demonstrations will help advance our understanding of the Moon and processes on the planet, while paving the way for future human missions to the Moon and beyond for the benefit of all.

Firefly’s lunar lander, called Blue Ghost, is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Jan. 15. After a 45-day cruise, Blue Ghost is scheduled to land near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille in Mare Crisium, a roughly 340-mile (550-kilometer) wide basin in the northeast quadrant of the moon’s near side.

How can we enable more precise navigation on the Moon? How do spacecraft interact with the lunar surface? How does the Earth’s magnetic field influence the effects of space weather on our home planet? NASA’s instruments on this flight will conduct the first demonstrations of their kind to answer these questions and more. These include testing regolith sampling technologies, drilling capabilities beneath the lunar surface, increasing the precision of positioning and navigation capabilities, testing radiation-tolerant computers, and learning how to mitigate lunar dust during lunar landings.

The ten NASA payloads aboard Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander include:

• Lunar instrumentation for rapid thermal subsurface exploration (LISTER) will measure the flow of heat from the lunar interior by measuring the thermal gradient, or temperature changes, at different depths, as well as the thermal conductivity, or the ability of the subsurface material to transmit heat. LISTER will take multiple measurements at depths of up to 10 feet using pneumatic drilling technology and a customized heat flow needle instrument at the tip. Data from LISTER will help scientists trace the Moon’s thermal history and understand how it formed and cooled. Lead organization: Texas Tech University
• Lunar PlanetVac (LPV) is designed to collect regolith samples from the lunar surface by using a blast of compressed gas to propel the regolith into a sample chamber (sieve), where it is collected and analyzed by various instruments. Additional instruments will then transmit the results back to Earth. The LPV payload is intended to help increase the science yield of planetary missions by testing low-cost regolith sample collection technologies in the field. Lead organization: Honeybee Robotics
• Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector (NGLR) serves as a target for lasers on Earth to precisely measure the distance between Earth and the Moon by reflecting very short laser pulses from Earth-based Lunar Laser Ranging Observatories. The travel time of the laser pulse to the moon and back is used to determine the distance. Data from NGLR could improve the accuracy of our lunar coordinate system and contribute to our understanding of the Moon’s internal structure and fundamental physics questions. Lead organization: University of Maryland

• Regolith Adherence Characterization (RAC) will determine how lunar regolith adheres to a range of materials exposed to the Moon’s environment during the lunar day. RAC will measure the accumulation rates of lunar regolith on surfaces (e.g. solar cells, optical systems, coatings and sensors) through imaging to determine their ability to repel or shed lunar dust. The data collected will help 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 correct errors caused by ionizing radiation. Several RadPC prototypes have been tested aboard the International Space Station and Earth-orbiting satellites, but this flight will be the largest attempt yet, demonstrating the computer’s ability to withstand space radiation as it passes through Earth’s radiation belts on the way to the Moon flies. and on the lunar surface. Lead organization: Montana State University
• Electrodynamic dust protection (EDS) is an active dust mitigation technology that uses electric fields to move and prevent dangerous lunar dust accumulations on surfaces. EDS is used to lift, transport and remove particles from surfaces without moving parts. Multiple tests will demonstrate the feasibility of self-cleaning glasses and thermal emitter surfaces on the Moon. In the event that the surfaces do not receive dust during landing, EDS is able to dedust itself again using the same technology. Lead organization: NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
• Heliospheric X-ray imager for the lunar environment (LEXI) will take a series of X-ray images to study the interaction between the solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field, which causes 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, providing crucial insights into the effects on Earth of space weather and other cosmic forces around our planet. Leading organizations: Boston University, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and Johns Hopkins University
• Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS) will characterize the structure and composition of the lunar 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 its formation. Lead organization: Southwest Research Institute
• Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) will demonstrate the ability to acquire and track signals from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) constellations, particularly GPS and Galileo, during transit to the Moon, during lunar orbit, and on the lunar surface. If successful, LuGRE will be the first enabler for future lunar spacecraft to use existing Earth-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 imaging photogrammetry to capture the impact of the rocket exhaust plume on the lunar regolith as the lander lands on the lunar surface. The high-resolution stereo images will help create models to predict lunar regolith erosion, an important task as larger, heavier spacecraft and hardware are brought to the Moon in close proximity to one another. This instrument also flew on Intuitive Machines’ first CLPS delivery. Lead organization: NASA Langley Research Center

Under the CLPS initiative, NASA purchases lunar landing and surface operations services from American companies. The agency uses CLPS to send scientific instruments and technology demonstrations to enhance capabilities for lunar science, exploration, or commercial development. By supporting a robust cadence of lunar deliveries, NASA will continue to enable a growing lunar economy while leveraging the entrepreneurial innovation of the commercial space industry.

Learn more about CLPS and Artemis at: http://www.nasa.gov/clps

Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
[email protected]

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