CLPS – Artemis

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.

Live Countdown Coverage Begins for First Firefly Commercial Lunar Flight

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission One lander prepares for a launch to the Moon on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025 from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission One lander prepares for a launch to the Moon on January 14 from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida 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. Liftoff is targeted for 1:11 a.m. EST Wednesday, Jan. 15. Photo Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket stands ready for a 1:11 a.m. EST liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Watch now on NASA+, NASA TV, or the agency’s website.

Aboard Falcon 9 is Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander, which is carrying 10 NASA scientific instruments to the Moon as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign.

Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron are predicting a 90% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch, with the primary weather concerns revolving around the cumulus cloud rule and liftoff winds.

Here’s a look at some of today’s countdown and ascent milestones. All times are approximate:

COUNTDOWN
Hr/Min/Sec          Event
– 00:38:00             SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load
– 00:35:00             RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins
– 00:35:00             1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins
– 00:16:00             2nd stage LOX loading begins
– 00:07:00             Falcon 9 begins pre-launch engine chill
– 00:05:00             Dragon transitions to internal power
– 00:01:00             Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
– 00:01:00             Propellant tanks pressurize for flight
– 00:00:45             SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
– 00:00:03             Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start
– 00:00:00             Falcon 9 liftoff

LAUNCH, LANDING, AND SEPARATION
Hr/Min/Sec Event
00:01:12 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:28 1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:31 1st and 2nd stages separate
00:02:38 2nd stage engine starts (SES-1)
00:03:28 Fairing Separation

00:06:04 1st stage entry burn begins
00:06:30 1st stage entry burn end
00:07:49 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:07:58 1st stage landing burn begin
00:08:20 1st stage landing burn end
01:05:36 Blue Ghost separates from 2nd stage

NASA Science, Tech Launching to Moon in Mid-January

NASA, SpaceX, and Firefly Aerospace are targeting 1:11 a.m. EST Wednesday, Jan. 15, for the launch of Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1, the next delivery to the Moon through NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative.

The Blue Ghost lander will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The flight will deliver 10 NASA science instruments and technology demonstrations to the lunar surface, to further our understanding of the Moon and help prepare for future human missions.

As part of the agency’s Artemis campaign, NASA is working with multiple U.S. companies to deliver science and technology to the Moon for the benefit of humanity.

For more information, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/clps

NASA, Intuitive Machines Share Images from the Moon, Provide Science Updates

Spacecraft descends to lunar surface with lander legs extended — Odysseus’ landing captured a leg, as it performed its primary task, absorbing first contact with the lunar surface. With the lander’s liquid methane and liquid oxygen engine still throttling, it provided stability. Credit: Intuitive Machines

NASA and Intuitive Machines co-hosted a news conference on Feb. 28 to provide a status update on the six NASA instruments that collected data on the IM-1 mission.

Mission challenges and successes were discussed during the briefing including more than 350 megabits of science data downloaded ready for analysis. During transit, all powered NASA payloads operated and received data. During descent and landing, guidance and navigation data was collected that will help improve landing precision in the future, and all three payloads that were designed to operate on the surface have received data.

The first images from the lunar surface are now available and showcase the orientation of the lander along with a view of the South Pole region on the Moon. Intuitive Machines believes the two actions captured in one of their images enabled Odysseus to gently lean into the lunar surface, preserving the ability to return scientific data. After successfully transmitting the image to Earth, there is additional insight into Odysseus’ position on the lunar surface.

On Feb. 22, NASA science instruments and technology on board Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander, called Odysseus, landed on the Moon’s South Pole region, marking the United States’ first return since Apollo 17. This was also the first landing as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative — transmitting valuable science data of each NASA payload from the lunar surface.

Additional updates can be found by watching the news conference here.

Taken on Tuesday, Feb. 27, Odysseus captured an image using its narrow-field-of-view camera. Credit: Intuitive Machines

NASA Science Touches Down on Moon with Intuitive Machines’ Mission

Carrying NASA science and technology to the Moon, Intuitive Machines’ uncrewed lunar lander touched down at 5:23 p.m. CST on Thursday. The instruments aboard Odysseus will prepare NASA for future human exploration of the Moon under Artemis. Additional updates will be available Friday, Feb. 23.

Intuitive Machines Prepares to Land on the Moon with NASA Science Ready to Begin Operations

After a successful lunar orbit insertion, Odysseus is currently orbiting the Moon, approximately 12 miles above the lunar surface. Carrying six NASA science investigations and technology demonstrations, the Intuitive Machines lander is expected to land at 6:24 p.m. EST near Malapert A in the south polar region of the Moon. Watch now on NASA+, NASA TV, and the agency’s website.

Over the last seven days as the mission has travelled from the Earth to the Moon, all powered NASA science instruments have completed their transit checkouts, collected data, and are operating as expected. Flight controllers will continue to analyze the data collected and monitor the payloads to inform preparations for landing.

The remaining lunar descent milestones include the following. All times are approximate:

Time (EST)	Event
6:11 p.m.	Powered Descent Initiation
6:22 p.m.	Pitch Over with Main Engine
6:23 p.m.	Hazard Detection and Avoidance
6:24 p.m.	Vertical Descent
6:24 p.m.	Terminal Descent
6:24 p.m.	Landing

Intuitive Machines Updates IM-1 Mission Landing Time

NASA science is taking another orbit around the Moon. Flight controllers chose to complete an additional orbit before beginning the IM-1 Mission landing sequence. The updated landing time is 6:24 pm. EST.

NASA coverage of the mission will begin at 5 p.m. on NASA+, NASA TV, and the agency’s website.