Extra NASA Science, Tech will Fly to Moon Aboard Future Firefly Flight

NASA continues to advance its marketing campaign to discover extra of the Moon than ever earlier than, awarding Firefly Aerospace $179 million to ship six experiments to the lunar floor. This fourth process order for Firefly will goal touchdown within the Gruithuisen Domes on the close to facet of the Moon in 2028.

As a part of the company’s broader Artemis marketing campaign, Firefly will ship a bunch of science experiments and know-how demonstrations beneath NASA’s CLPS initiative, or Industrial Lunar Payload Providers, to those lunar domes, an space of historical lava flows, to higher perceive planetary processes and evolution. Via CLPS, NASA is furthering our understanding of the Moon’s setting and serving to put together for future human missions to the lunar floor, as a part of the company’s Moon to Mars exploration method. 

“The CLPS initiative carries out U.S. scientific and technical research on the floor of the Moon by robotic explorers. As NASA prepares for future human exploration of the Moon, the CLPS initiative continues to help a rising lunar financial system with American firms,” mentioned Joel Kearns, deputy affiliate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Understanding the formation of the Gruithuisen Domes, in addition to the traditional lava flows surrounding the touchdown website, will assist the U.S. reply vital questions concerning the lunar floor.”

Firefly’s first lunar supply is scheduled to launch no sooner than mid-January 2025 and can land close to a volcanic characteristic referred to as Mons Latreille inside Mare Crisium, on the northeast quadrant of the Moon’s close to facet. Firefly’s second lunar mission contains two process orders: a lunar orbit drop-off of a satellite tv for pc mixed with a supply to the lunar floor on the far facet and a supply of a lunar orbital calibration supply, scheduled in 2026.

This new supply in 2028 will ship payloads to the Gruithuisen Domes and the close by Sinus Viscositatus. The Gruithuisen Domes have lengthy been suspected to be fashioned by a magma wealthy in silica, comparable in composition to granite. Granitic rocks kind simply on Earth on account of plate tectonics and oceans of water. The Moon lacks these key components, so lunar scientists have been left to marvel how these domes fashioned and developed over time. For the primary time, as a part of this process order, NASA additionally has contracted to offer “mobility,” or roving, for among the scientific devices on the lunar floor after touchdown. This can allow new kinds of U.S. scientific investigations from CLPS.

“Firefly will ship six devices to know the touchdown website and surrounding neighborhood,” mentioned Chris Culbert, supervisor of the CLPS initiative at NASA’s Johnson House Middle in Houston. “These devices will examine geologic processes and lunar regolith, take a look at photo voltaic cells, and characterize the neutron radiation setting, supplying invaluable data as NASA works to determine a long-term presence on the Moon.”

The devices, collectively anticipated to be about 215 kilos (97 kilograms) in mass, embrace: 

• Lunar Vulkan Imaging and Spectroscopy Explorer, which consists of two stationary and three cell devices, will examine rocks and regoliths on the summit of one of many domes to find out their origin and higher perceive geologic processes of early planetary our bodies. The principal investigator is Dr. Kerri Donaldson Hanna of the College of Central Florida, Orlando.
• Heimdall is a versatile digicam system that can be used to take photos of the touchdown website from above the horizon to the bottom instantly beneath the lander. The principal investigator is Dr. R. Aileen Yingst of the Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Arizona.
• Pattern Acquisition, Morphology Filtering, and Probing of Lunar Regolith is a robotic arm that can acquire samples of lunar regolith and use a robotic scoop to filter and isolate particles of various sizes. The sampling know-how will use a flight spare from the Mars Exploration Rover venture. The principal investigator is Sean Dougherty of Maxar Applied sciences, Westminster, Colorado.
• Low-frequency Radio Observations from the Close to Aspect Lunar Floor is designed to look at the Moon’s floor setting in radio frequencies, to find out whether or not pure and human-generated exercise close to the floor interferes with science. The venture is headed up by Natchimuthuk Gopalswamy of NASA’s Goddard House Flight Middle in Greenbelt, Maryland. 
• Photovoltaic Investigation on the Lunar Floor will carry a set of the newest photo voltaic cells for a know-how demonstration of light-to-electricity energy conversion for future missions. The experiment will even acquire knowledge on {the electrical} charging setting of the lunar floor utilizing a small array of photo voltaic cells. The principal investigator is Jeremiah McNatt from NASA’s Glenn Analysis Middle in Cleveland.
• Neutron Measurements on the Lunar Floor is a neutron spectrometer that can characterize the floor neutron radiation setting, monitor hydrogen, and supply constraints on elemental composition. The principal investigator is Dr. Heidi Haviland of NASA’s Marshall Spaceflight Middle in Huntsville, Alabama.

Via the CLPS initiative, NASA purchases lunar touchdown and floor operations companies from American firms. The company makes use of CLPS to ship scientific devices and know-how demonstrations to advance capabilities for science, exploration, or business growth of the Moon. By supporting a strong cadence of lunar deliveries, NASA will proceed to allow a rising lunar financial system whereas leveraging the entrepreneurial innovation of the business house trade. Two upcoming CLPS flights scheduled to launch in early 2025 will ship NASA payloads to the Moon’s close to facet and south polar area, respectively.
Be taught extra about CLPS and Artemis at:

https://www.nasa.gov/clps

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

Natalia Riusech / Nilufar Ramji    
Johnson House Middle, Houston
281-483-5111
natalia.s.riusech@nasa.gov / nilufar.ramji@nasa.gov