NASA’s CLPS teams up with U.S. firms for lunar science missions

NASA and Firefly Aerospace have announced a significant milestone in lunar exploration and have invited media for a detailed discussion regarding the conclusion of the Blue Ghost Mission 1. The news conference is scheduled for Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at 2 p.m. EDT at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

This event will focus on Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander, which successfully landed and operated on the Moon’s surface. The mission is part of NASA’s ambitious Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and the Artemis campaign, aimed at establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon.

The Blue Ghost Mission 1 was launched on January 15, 2025, at 1:11 a.m. EDT aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After weeks of travel, the lander touched down on March 2, 2025, in the Mare Crisium basin, a key lunar region.

Equipped with 10 NASA science investigations and technology demonstrations, the lander conducted critical experiments, including testing lunar drilling technology, collecting regolith (lunar soil and rock) samples, evaluating global navigation satellite system capabilities, demonstrating radiation-tolerant computing, and exploring lunar dust mitigation methods. These efforts provided valuable scientific data to enhance understanding of space weather, cosmic forces, and their effects on Earth, while also laying the foundation for future lunar exploration.

Although the Blue Ghost lander was not designed to withstand the harsh conditions of the lunar night—when temperatures drop drastically and solar power is unavailable—it continued operating for five hours after lunar sunset on March 16, 2025. This unexpected durability highlights Firefly Aerospace’s engineering capabilities and offers additional data for analysis.

U.S. media interested in covering the news conference, either in person or remotely, must request accreditation by 5 p.m. EDT on March 17, 2025. Applications can be submitted by calling the NASA Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 or emailing jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. To ask questions by phone, media must join the call at least 15 minutes before the start time.

The news conference will feature key figures from NASA and Firefly Aerospace, including Joel Kearns, Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington; Jason Kim, Chief Executive Officer of Firefly Aerospace; Ray Allensworth, Spacecraft Program Director at Firefly; and Adam Schlesinger, CLPS Project Manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. These experts will share insights into the mission’s achievements, payload performance, and the next steps for lunar exploration.

NASA’s CLPS initiative, which enabled this mission, represents a fresh approach to space exploration through partnerships with American commercial companies like Firefly Aerospace. The program allows companies to bid on contracts for lunar delivery services, encompassing payload integration, operations, Earth launches, and lunar landings.

The data and technologies tested during Blue Ghost Mission 1 are vital for the Artemis campaign, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface and eventually send crewed missions to Mars. Through commercial robotic deliveries, NASA is accelerating the development of capabilities needed for these future endeavors.