NASA Selects Firefly for New Artemis Science and Technology Delivery to the Moon

NASA has chosen Firefly Aerospace to deliver a suite of scientific instruments and technology demonstrations to the lunar surface as part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. This mission, a key component of the Artemis program, aims to advance scientific understanding of the Moon, develop new capabilities for exploration, and support future human missions.

Advancing Lunar Science and Exploration

The CLPS initiative enables NASA to purchase lunar landing and surface operations services from American companies. This approach allows the agency to efficiently send payloads to the Moon, fostering innovation within the commercial space industry while achieving critical science and exploration objectives.The upcoming Firefly mission will deploy several advanced payloads, each designed to contribute substantially to our knowledge of the lunar surroundings and prepare for future human presence.

Key Payloads for the Firefly Mission:

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Camera Payload: This payload will provide high-resolution imagery of potential landing sites for future Artemis missions. It will capture detailed views of the lunar surface, aiding in site selection and hazard assessment.
Lead growth institution: NASA’s Langley research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

Laser Retroreflector Array: This passive optical instrument consists of an array of eight retroreflectors mounted on an aluminum support structure. It will enable precise laser ranging, allowing scientists to accurately measure the distance between orbiting or landing spacecraft and the reflector on the lunar surface. This array will serve as a permanent location marker on the Moon for decades.
Lead development organization: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

CSA Rover: Developed by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), this rover is designed to explore remote south Pole regions of the Moon, including permanently shadowed areas. It is engineered to survive at least one lunar night. The rover is equipped with advanced instruments such as stereo cameras, a neutron spectrometer, two imagers (visible to near-infrared), a radiation micro-dosimeter, and a NASA-contributed thermal imaging radiometer.These instruments will enhance our understanding of the lunar surface’s physical and chemical properties, its geological history, and the potential presence of resources like water ice. Furthermore, the rover will provide crucial data on the environmental challenges that future astronauts will face.
lead development organization: CSA.

Laser Ionization Mass Spectrometer (LIMS): This instrument, developed by the University of Bern in Switzerland, will analyze the elemental and isotopic composition of lunar regolith. It will utilize a Firefly-built robotic arm and a Titanium shovel for regolith excavation.The collected samples will be funneled into the instrument’s collection unit, where a pulsed laser beam will be used to identify chemical differences compared to samples from previous missions, such as those from the Apollo program. This grain-by-grain analysis will offer deeper insights into the chemical complexity of the landing site and its surroundings, shedding light on the Moon’s evolution.
Lead development organization: University of Bern in switzerland.

Enabling a Growing Lunar Economy

Through the CLPS initiative, NASA is fostering a robust cadence of lunar deliveries. This strategy not only supports the advancement of science and technology but also cultivates a growing lunar economy by leveraging the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation of the commercial space industry. These missions are vital for building the capabilities necessary for sustained human exploration, not only on the Moon but also as a stepping stone for future missions to Mars.

To learn more about CLPS and Artemis, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/clps

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Alise Fisher
Headquarters,Washington
202-358-2546
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov

Nilufar Ramji
johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
nilufar.ramji@nasa.gov