posted 02-04-2021 06:38 PM               

NASA Selects Firefly Aerospace for Artemis Commercial Moon Delivery in 2023

NASA has awarded Firefly Aerospace of Cedar Park, Texas, approximately $93.3 million to deliver a suite of 10 science investigations and technology demonstrations to the Moon in 2023. The delivery, planned for Mare Crisium, a low-lying basin on the Moon's near side, will investigate a variety of lunar surface conditions and resources. Such investigations will help prepare for human missions to the lunar surface.

Above: Illustration of of Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander on the lunar surface. The lander will carry a suite of 10 science investigations and technology demonstrations to the Moon in 2023 as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. (Firefly Aerospace)

The award is part of the agency's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, in which NASA is securing the service of commercial partners to quickly land science and technology payloads on the lunar surface. The initiative is a key part of NASA's Artemis program. Firefly Aerospace will be responsible for end-to-end delivery services, including payload integration, launch from Earth, landing on the Moon, and mission operations. This is the sixth award for lunar surface delivery under the CLPS initiative.

"We're excited another CLPS provider has won its first task order award. With this initiative, we seek to develop ways for new science and technology development utilizing a service-based model," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This allows U.S. vendors to not only demonstrate their ability to safely deliver payloads to our celestial neighbor, but also expand this capability for others who want to take advantage of this cutting edge approach to explore the Moon."

This is the first delivery awarded to Firefly Aerospace, which will provide the lunar delivery service using its Blue Ghost lander, which the company designed and developed at its Cedar Park facility. This facility also will house the integration of NASA and any non-NASA payloads, and also will serve as the company's mission operations center for the 2023 delivery.

"The payloads we're sending as part of this delivery service span across multiple areas, from investigating the lunar soil and testing a sample capture technology, to giving us information about the Moon's thermal properties and magnetic field," said Chris Culbert, manager of the CLPS initiative at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Mare Crisium, where Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost will land, is a more than 300-mile-wide basin where instruments will gather data to provide insight into the Moon's regolith – loose, fragmented rock and soil – properties, geophysical characteristics, and the interaction of solar wind and Earth's magnetic field.

The payloads, collectively expected to total 207 pounds (94 kg) in mass, include:

• The Regolith Adherence Characterization (RAC), which will determine how lunar regolith sticks to a range of materials exposed to the Moon's environment during landing and lander operations. Components will be derived from the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) facility currently on the International Space Station.

• The Next Generation Lunar Retroreflectors (NGLR), which will serve as a target for lasers on Earth to precisely measure the distance between Earth and the Moon. The retroreflector that will fly on this mission also will provide data that could be used to understand various aspects of the lunar interior and address fundamental physics questions.

• The Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI), which will capture images of the interaction of Earth's magnetosphere with the flow of charged particles from the Sun, called the solar wind.

• The Reconfigurable, Radiation Tolerant Computer System (RadPC), which aims to demonstrate a radiation-tolerant computing technology. Due to the Moon's lack of atmosphere and magnetic field, radiation from the Sun will be a challenge for electronics. This investigation also will characterize the radiation effects on the lunar surface.

• The Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS), which is designed to characterize the structure and composition of the Moon's mantle by studying electric and magnetic fields. The investigation will make use of a flight-spare magnetometer, a device that measures magnetic fields, originally made for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft currently orbiting Mars.

• The Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity (LISTER), which is designed to measure heat flow from the interior of the Moon. The probe will attempt to drill 7 to 10 feet (2 to 3 meters) into the lunar regolith to investigate the Moon's thermal properties at different depths.

• The Lunar PlanetVac (LPV), which is designed to acquire lunar regolith from the surface and transfer it to other instruments that would analyze the material or put it in a container that another spacecraft could return to Earth.

• Stereo CAmeras for Lunar Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS 1.1), which will capture video and still images of the area under the lander from when the engine plume first disturbs the lunar surface through engine shutdown. Long-focal-length cameras will determine the pre-landing surface topography. Photogrammetry will be used to reconstruct the changing surface during landing. Understanding the physics of rocket exhaust on the regolith, and the displacement of dust, gravel, and rocks is critical to understanding how to best avoid kicking up surface materials during the terminal phase of flight/landing on the Moon and other celestial bodies.

• The Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS), which will generate a non-uniform electric field using varying high voltage on multiple electrodes. This traveling field, in turn, carries away the particles and has potential applications in thermal radiators, spacesuit fabrics, visors, camera lenses, solar panels, and many other technologies.

• The Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE), which is based on GPS. LuGRE will continue to extend the reach of GPS signals and, if successful, be the first to discern GPS signals at lunar distances.

The CLPS initiative is a key part of NASA's Artemis lunar exploration efforts. The science and technology payloads sent to the Moon's surface as part of the initiative will help lay the foundation for human missions and a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface.

posted 05-20-2021 10:29 AM               

Firefly Aerospace Awards Contract to SpaceX to Launch Blue Ghost Mission to Moon in 2023

Firefly Aerospace Inc., a leading provider of economical and dependable launch vehicles, spacecraft, and in-space services, announced today (May 20) that it has awarded a contract to SpaceX to launch its Blue Ghost lunar lander in 2023. Blue Ghost will be carrying 10 payloads for NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) task order 19D mission, in addition to separately contracted commercial payloads.

Shea Ferring, Firefly Senior Vice President of Spacecraft, said, "Firefly is excited to fly our Blue Ghost spacecraft on the highly reliable Falcon 9, which will deliver NASA instruments and technology demonstration payloads that support NASA science goals and NASA's Artemis program. The high performance of SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle permits a lunar transit using minimal Blue Ghost propulsion resources, thereby allowing the lander to deliver more than 150 kg of payload to the lunar surface."

Firefly was awarded the CLPS 19D task order by NASA in February 2021 and has since made rapid progress on the Blue Ghost program. The team has key long lead items on order, production underway, and is conducting regular vision navigation test flights at Firefly's one-acre Briggs, Texas lunar landscape site.

"The Blue Ghost mission will include delivery of NASA payloads that will support scientific lunar research and will contribute to developing a sustainable presence on the Moon as part of the Artemis program," said SpaceX Vice President of Commercial Sales Tom Ochinero. "We're honored Firefly selected Falcon 9 for launch."

Tom Markusic, Firefly CEO, said "Firefly is excited to leverage the performance and reliability of Falcon 9 to propel Blue Ghost on the first phase of its journey to the Moon."

Blue Ghost (named after the rare Phausis reticulata firefly) will land at Mare Crisium in the Moon's Crisium basin and operate on-board payloads through lunar transit, during lunar orbit, and on the lunar surface for a complete lunar day (about 14 Earth days) and well into the freezing dark of lunar night.

Opportunities are open for early-career and seasoned professionals alike to work on Firefly's lunar lander, launch vehicles, and various space-related projects.

posted 10-25-2021 09:57 AM               

Firefly Aerospace is One Step Closer to Landing on the Moon

Announces it has successfully completed NASA's Critical Design Review of its Blue Ghost lunar lander and is on schedule for September 2023 lunar mission

Firefly Aerospace, Inc., a leader in economical launch vehicles, spacecraft, and in-space services, today [Oct. 25] announced it reached a major milestone with the successful completion of the Critical Design Review (CDR) of their Blue Ghost lunar lander. This CDR paves the way for construction of the Blue Ghost lander, which is scheduled to touch down in the Mare Crisium lunar basin in September of 2023 carrying ten NASA payloads as part of the $93.3-million Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract secured by Firefly earlier this year. The lander will also take several commercial payloads to the lunar surface. The 2023 Blue Ghost mission will be the first of what are expected to be yearly lunar surface missions for Firefly.

"This milestone marks another step in an aggressive schedule and meeting it continues to showcase our spacecraft team's ability to consistently deliver incredible work," stated Dr. Tom Markusic, Firefly's CEO. "This mission is a forerunner of what we see as a growing cadence of recurring data and payload service missions in cis-lunar space that will kickstart a lunar economy, and we're honored to be demonstrating our ability to deliver these services for NASA and for our commercial customers."

Blue Ghost will operate a variety of payloads through lunar transit and orbit, as well as while on the lunar surface. These payloads will explore the region's regolith properties, geophysical characteristics, and interaction of the solar wind and the Earth's magnetic field. There are also several key technology demonstrations related to navigation and sample collection.

"The Firefly team is greatly humbled by the confidence external reviewers have shown in our lander and mission plan, in addition to the sign-off on this milestone completion by NASA. Our team has steadfastly driven to remain on schedule while producing the best product and plan in the face of both a global pandemic and the associated supply chain challenges," said Dr. William Coogan, Blue Ghost Chief Engineer. "Every day I have the pleasure of working with some of the most creative people in the industry, who believe in the importance of this mission and who work together to make it a reality."

Mare Crisium has been the subject of previous lunar missions including the Soviet landers Luna 15, Luna 23, and Luna 24. In 2012, the NASA GRAIL mission confirmed and mapped a mass-concentration at the center of the basin.

posted 11-25-2024 01:01 PM               

Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1

Ghost Riders in the Sky

Firefly's first Blue Ghost mission, named Ghost Riders in the Sky, will deliver 10 scientific instruments and technology demonstrations to the lunar surface as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.

Upon launching, Blue Ghost will spend approximately 45 days in transit to the Moon, allowing ample time to conduct health checks on each subsystem and begin payload science. Blue Ghost will then land in Mare Crisium and operate payloads for a complete lunar day (about 14 Earth days).

Following payload operations, Blue Ghost will capture imagery of the lunar sunset and provide critical data on how lunar regolith reacts to solar influences during lunar dusk conditions. The lander will then operate for several hours into the lunar night.

Our Payloads

The payloads on Blue Ghost Mission 1 will help advance lunar research and conduct several first-of-its-kind demonstrations, including testing regolith sample collection, Global Navigation Satellite System abilities, radiation tolerant computing, and lunar dust mitigation. These investigations will help pave the way for humanity's return to the Moon. The data captured will also benefit humans on Earth by providing insights into how space weather and other cosmic forces impact Earth, among other valuable research.

• Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity (LISTER) - Honeybee Robotics (Blue Origin)

  LISTER will characterize heat flow from the interior of the Moon by measuring the thermal gradient and conductivity of the lunar subsurface. It will take several measurements to a 2-3 meter final depth using its pneumatic drilling technology with a custom heat flow needle instrument at its tip.

• Lunar PlanetVac (LPV) - Honeybee Robotics (Blue Origin)

  The Lunar PlanetVac will demonstrate pneumatic sample collection of lunar regolith by collecting and sorting regolith within its sample collection chamber. Upon deployment to the surface, PlanetVac will fire a blast of gas into the lunar surface. In a matter of seconds, the surface regolith would be lofted to a collection chamber for visual (camera) inspection. Additional gas jets within the sorting station will perform sieving. The sorting station includes material coupons to test regolith dust adhesion and efficiency of gas jets as a cleaning agent. In comparison to alternative sample collection methods, such as robotic arms, PlanetVac will demonstrate a fast and low cost, low mass solution.

• Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector (NGLR) - University of Maryland

  NGLR will support the determination of the distance between Earth and the Moon by reflecting very short laser pulses from Earth-based Lunar Laser Ranging Observatories (LLROs) and measuring the laser pulse transit time to the Moon and back. NGLR will greatly improve the data that is still being obtained from the Apollo era retroreflectors and will support sub-millimeter range measurements. The analysis within the Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) program will improve our understanding of the inner structure of the Moon, address modified theories of gravitation and dark matter, and further research in lunar physics and cosmology.

• Regolith Adherence Characterization (RAC) - Aegis Aerospace

  RAC will determine how lunar regolith sticks to a range of materials exposed to the Moon's environment throughout the lunar day. RAC will measure accumulation rates of lunar regolith on the surfaces of several materials (e.g., solar cells, optical systems, coatings, and sensors) through imaging to determine their ability to repel or shed lunar dust. The data captured will allow the industry to test, improve, and protect spacecraft, spacesuits, and habitats from abrasive regolith.

• Radiation Tolerant Computer (RadPC) - Montana State University

  RadPC will demonstrate a computer that can recover from faults caused by ionizing radiation. Several RadPC prototypes have been tested aboard the ISS and Earth-orbiting satellites, but we'll provide the biggest trial yet by demonstrating the computer's ability to withstand space radiation as it passes through the Earth's radiation belts, while in transit to the Moon, and on the lunar surface.

• Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) - NASA Kennedy Space Center

  The Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) is an active dust mitigation technology that uses electric fields to move dust from surfaces and to prevent dust accumulation on surfaces. The EDS, which can lift, transport, and remove particles from surfaces with no moving parts, will be demonstrated for the first time on the lunar surface. This technology will show the feasibility of self-cleaning glass and thermal radiator surfaces. In addition to dust removal, the EDS will apply lunar dust to these surfaces using a new reduster technology that will lift and transport dust from the lunar surface to the desired location without moving parts or gasses. The EDS will be released from a fifth leg of the lander and positioned directly onto the lunar surface to maximize dust contact.

• Lunar Environment heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI) - Boston University; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Johns Hopkins University

  LEXI will capture a series of X-ray images to study the interaction of solar wind and the Earth's magnetic field that drives geomagnetic disturbances and storms. This instrument will provide the first global images showing the edge of Earth's magnetic field for critical insights into how space weather and other cosmic forces surrounding our planet impact Earth.

• Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS) - Southwest Research Institute

  LMS will characterize the structure and composition of the Moon's mantle by measuring electric and magnetic fields. This investigation will help determine the Moon's temperature structure and thermal evolution to understand how the Moon has cooled and chemically differentiated since it formed.

• Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) - Italian Space Agency (ASI); NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

  LuGRE will receive and track signals from the GPS and Galileo navigation satellite constellations during the Earth-to-Moon transit and throughout a full lunar day on the Moon's surface. This demonstration will help characterize and extend Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-based navigation and timing to lunar orbit and the Moon's surface, providing lunar spacecraft with accurate position, velocity, and time estimations autonomously, on board, and in real time.
  
  

• Stereo CAmera for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS) - NASA Langley Research Center

  SCALPSS will use stereo imaging photogrammetry to capture the impact of rocket plume on lunar regolith as our lander descends on the Moon's surface. The high-resolution stereo images will aid in creating models to predict lunar regolith erosion – an important task as bigger, heavier payloads are delivered to the Moon in close proximity to each other.

Our Ride

Standing 2 m (6.6 ft) tall and 3.5 m (11.5 ft) wide, Blue Ghost is designed to stick the landing with shock absorbing feet, a low center of mass, and a wide footprint. Blue Ghost's core components, including the panels, struts, legs, harnesses, avionics, batteries, and thrusters, were built using many of the same flight-proven technologies common to all of Firefly's launch and orbital vehicles, enabling lower costs and improved reliability.

Our Descent

During the final hour of descent, Blue Ghost uses vision-based terrain relative navigation and hazard avoidance to measure the lander's position and identify craters, slopes, and rocks before selecting the final hazard-free target within the landing zone. Blue Ghost's RCS thrusters pulse as needed throughout the descent for a soft landing.