Artemis

Blue Ghost Prepares for Landing, NASA Instrument Breaks Record

Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 is nearly one week away from its Moon landing on Sunday, March 2, after launching on Jan.15. In preparation for landing, Blue Ghost will complete its final lunar orbit maneuver scheduled for Monday, Feb. 24. This maneuver will insert Blue Ghost into a near-circular low lunar orbit, bringing the lander closer to the lunar surface. Then about one hour before touchdown, Blue Ghost will complete its Descent Orbit Insertion burn, which will initiate the lander’s descent trajectory toward its landing site, Mare Crisium, on the near side of the Moon.

Live coverage of the landing, jointly hosted by NASA and Firefly, will air on NASA+ starting at 2:30 a.m. EST, approximately 75 minutes before Blue Ghost touches down on the Moon’s surface. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media. The broadcast will also stream on Firefly’s YouTube channel. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates as the descent milestones occur.

All 10 NASA instruments on this flight are currently healthy and ready to operate on the lunar surface. The payloads that are able to power on and operate have also collected some noteworthy data during lunar transit. Two highlights include:

The Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) acquired and tracked Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals for the first time in lunar orbit – a new record! This achievement, peaking at 246,000 miles, suggests that Earth-based GNSS constellations can be used for navigation in transit to, around, and potentially on the Moon. It also demonstrates the power of using multiple GNSS constellations together, such as GPS and Galileo, to perform navigation. After lunar landing, LuGRE will operate for 14 days and attempt to break another record – first reception of GNSS signals on the lunar surface.

The Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager, or LEXI, telescope was turned on successfully shortly after launch on Jan. 15. The instrument has operated for several hours every day conducting checkouts and initial commissioning, operating for a total of more than 50 hours so far in preparation for collecting images from the lunar surface.

Follow along on NASA’s Artemis Blog as Blue Ghost Mission 1 continues its journey to the Moon. Additional mission updates can also be found on Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 page.

Blue Ghost Remains on Track, Lunar Orbit Insertion Burn Complete

After about a month in transit to the Moon, Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander successfully completed a four-minute lunar orbit insertion burn Thursday – the longest and most challenging burn conducted to date by the lander’s main engine and reaction control system thrusters.

Now that the lander is in lunar trajectory, over the next 16 days, additional maneuvers will take the lander from an elliptical orbit to a circular orbit around the Moon. Blue Ghost Mission 1 is targeted to land Sunday, March 2, at 3:45 a.m. EST. During the lunar orbit insertion burn, Blue Ghost captured a picture of the Moon’s South Pole.

A bright Moon in the darkness of space with the Moon’s South Pole visible on the far left. — Blue Ghost captured a bright image of the Moon’s South Pole on the far left through its cameras on the top deck, as it travels to the Moon as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis a campaign. Credit: Firefly Aerospace

NASA instrument and Firefly mission updates will continue to be shared here on NASA’s Artemis Blog and Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 page.

More NASA Science Received During Earth Orbit, Firefly Begins Lunar Transit Phase

After a successful Trans Lunar Injection burn on Saturday, Feb. 8, Firefly’s spacecraft carrying NASA science and tech to the Moon has departed Earth’s orbit and begun its four-day transit to the Moon’s orbit. Blue Ghost will then spend approximately 16 days in lunar orbit before beginning its descent operations. Since launching more than three weeks ago, Blue Ghost has performed dozens of health tests generating 13 gigabytes of data. All 10 NASA payloads onboard are currently healthy and ready for surface operations on the Moon.

NASA’s Radiation Tolerant Computer (RadPC), developed by Montana State University, successfully operated while passing through the Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts, providing insight on how to mitigate the effects of radiation on computers. This helps improve our understanding of the radiation environment that future astronauts may experience on Artemis missions.

During an on-orbit health check, NASA’s Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS), developed by the Southwest Research Institute, accurately detected a change in magnetic fields. This is a positive sign that LMS will be able to measure the Moon’s magnetic and electrical fields, shedding light on the Moon’s interior temperature and composition on the lunar surface.

A lunar lander in the center of the image is on its way to the Moon with a bright Earth behind it in the darkness of space. — Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander captured an Earth selfie that looks down the side of the lander and shows the top of Blue Ghost’s thrusters with Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS) probes on both sides. Credit: Firefly Aerospace

Also during a health check, Firefly and NASA teams captured data and an interior image of the sample container a from NASA’s Lunar PlanetVac (LPV), indicating the payload is operational in advance of surface operations on the Moon. The LPV payload is a technology demonstration that is designed to efficiently collect and transfer lunar soil from the surface to other science instruments or sample return containers without reliance on gravity.

Interior image of the empty sample container in advance of surface operations captured by the LunarPlanet Vac payload, developed by Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company, attached to the underside of Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander. Credit: Honeybee Robotics

Follow along on NASA’s Artemis Blog as Blue Ghost Mission 1, carrying the agency’s science and technology, continues its journey to the Moon. Additional mission updates can also be found on Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 page.

NASA Tech Instrument Captures Test Images During Blue Ghost Lunar Transit

Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 reached day 15 of its 45-day transit to the Moon. The Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS) 1.1 instrument, designed by researchers at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, to capture images during the spacecraft’s lunar descent and touchdown, successfully received high-resolution test images from all six of its cameras.

Four cameras have a short focal length and aim to capture images of the interaction between Blue Ghost’s rocket plumes and foot pads with the Moon’s surface. Two of the cameras have a long focal length and aim to capture images of the surface before the rocket plume interaction. These images will help the SCALPSS team observe the effects before and after landing. Some images were captured during the cameras’ test run.

This image from the short focal length camera, shows a can-like structure which is Blue Ghost’s main engine. The bright objects to the engine’s right and to the left are the lander’s foot pads. The pointed object at the top left is another NASA payload, the Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity (LISTER) instrument, led by Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company, headquartered in Longmont, Colorado. LISTER is designed to measure the heat flow from the interior of the Moon. Credit: NASA

As trips to the Moon increase and the number of science and tech instruments touching down in proximity to one another grows, researchers need to accurately predict the effects of landings. These test images demonstrate that the hardware is functioning well and is capable of collecting images of plume-surface interactions upon lunar touchdown.

A second short focal length camera captured LISTER from a different angle. The small white circle just above the word Honeybee, and the one to the left of it, are markers the Honeybee Robotics team placed on LISTER to tell if their cameras moved during launch. Credit: NASA

Firefly Gets First Glimpse of Moon, NASA Instrument Checkouts Continue

An image from the top deck of Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander in the darkness of space with the lit Moon in the distance. — An image taken from the top deck of Firefly Aerospace’s lunar lander of the Moon in the distance. Credit: Firefly Aerospace

NASA’s science and technology instruments aboard Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 are a step closer to the Moon. After almost two weeks in Earth orbit, Firefly announced Thursday that Blue Ghost successfully completed its second engine burn, placing the lander in the correct position to leave Earth’s orbit and continue its journey to the Moon. At the same time, the spacecraft got its first glimpse of the Moon from Earth’s orbit.

Routine assessments while Blue Ghost is in transit show that all NASA payloads continue to be healthy. Firefly and NASA’s payload teams will continue to perform payload health checkouts and operations before reaching the Moon, including calibrating NASA’s Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI), continued transit operations of the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE), and analysis of radiation data collected from the Radiation Tolerant Computer (RadPC) technology demonstration.

NASA’s Artemis blog will continue to provide updates on this lunar delivery. Additional mission updates can also be found on Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 page.

Blue Ghost Conducts First Burn, Science Operations, Captures Eclipse

Firefly’s Blue Ghost continues its journey to the Moon carrying 10 NASA science and technology instruments. Four days into the mission, the lunar lander completed its first main engine burn. This milestone is the first of several maneuvers that will position the lander in a trajectory towards the Moon. After 25 days orbiting Earth, Blue Ghost will continue its four-day journey to lunar orbit and orbit the Moon for 16 days before it begins descent operations to the lunar surface as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign.

Jointly developed by NASA and the Italian Space Agency, the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) technology demonstration acquired Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals, and calculated a navigation fix at nearly 52 Earth radii: more than 205,674 miles (331,000 kilometers) from Earth’s surface. This achievement suggests that Earth-based GNSS constellations can be used for navigation at nearly 90% of the distance to the Moon, an Earth-Moon signal distance record. It also demonstrates the power of using multiple GNSS constellations together, such as GPS and Galileo, to perform navigation. Throughout its journey, LuGRE will continue expanding our knowledge of Earth-based navigation systems in space as it acquires and tracks signals on its way to the Moon, during lunar orbit, and for up to two weeks on the lunar surface.

During this Earth transit phase, the Firefly mission team has continued to ensure the spacecraft remains healthy. The most recent visuals from space include footage of Earth eclipsing the Sun.

As the 45–day transit to the Moon continues, follow NASA’s Artemis blog for agency science and tech updates aboard Blue Ghost Mission 1, and Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 page for additional operational updates.

Moon Bound: Blue Ghost Captures First Image, Performs Health Checks

On Jan. 15, Firefly Aerospace successfully launched 10 NASA science and technology instruments on the company’s first CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) delivery. The NASA instrument teams are performing initial health checks and collecting data ahead of the lunar landing in early March. Flight controllers for Blue Ghost Mission 1 said Wednesday that the company’s spacecraft continues to meet mission milestones including acquisition of signal, and maintaining communications through its Mission Operations Center in Cedar Park, Texas.

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 spacecraft in the darkness of space captures a first image from the top deck of its lunar lander. — The first image from space of Firefly’s Blue Ghost mission 1 lunar lander as it begins its 45-day transit period to the Moon. The top deck of the lander is visible here with the X-band antenna and NASA’s Lunar Environment heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI) payload. Credit: Firefly Aerospace

Six NASA payloads aboard the flight, including the Radiation Tolerant Computer (RadPC) technology demonstration, Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS), Lunar PlanetVac (LPV), Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity (LISTER), Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE), and the Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) are already sending initial data back to Earth. All NASA payloads are healthy, and additional payload data sets are expected during this transit period, as the mission continues its 45-day trajectory before landing on the surface of the Moon.

Stay tuned to NASA’s Artemis blog for agency science and tech aboard Blue Ghost Mission 1 updates, as well as Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 page for additional operational updates.

Firefly Lunar Lander On Its Way To the Moon

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander successfully powered on as it continues its way to the Moon, carrying NASA science demonstrations as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign.

Blue Ghost is expected to land on the lunar surface on Sunday, March 2 and, throughout its mission, NASA’s scientific instruments aim to 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 could also benefit humans on Earth by providing insights into how space weather and other cosmic forces impact Earth.

This concludes our live launch coverage. Continue to follow along for more CLPS updates: nasa.gov/clps. Additional mission updates can be found on Firefly Aerospace’s press pages.

Firefly Aerospace Lunar Lander Separates From SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

At approximately 2:17 a.m. EST, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander separated from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Aboard are NASA scientific instruments flying to the Moon as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign. Coming up, Blue Ghost will power on and continue its journey to the Moon.

Liftoff! Firefly Lunar Lander Begins Journey to the Moon

Image shows streak from SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket after liftoff on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. — Creating a golden streak in the night sky, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission One lander soars upward after liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025 as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. The Blue Ghost lander will carry 10 NASA science and technology instruments to the lunar surface to further understand the Moon and help prepare for future human missions. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

At 1:11 a.m. EST SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket and Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Aboard are a suite of NASA scientific instruments to the Moon as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign. These instruments aim to help the agency develop capabilities needed to explore the Moon under Artemis and in advance of human missions on the lunar surface.

The next major milestone will be when Blue Ghost separates from Falcon 9, which is expected to occur in approximately one hour or around 2:17 a.m. EST.