WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - NASA has announced that it is awarding Firefly Aerospace $179 million to deliver six experiments to the lunar surface. This fourth task order for Firefly will target landing in the Gruithuisen Domes on the near side of the Moon in 2028.
Using the funding, Firefly will target landing in the Gruithuisen Domes on the near side of the Moon in 2028.
As part of the U.S. space agency's broader Artemis campaign, Firefly will deliver a group of science experiments and technology demonstrations to these lunar domes, an area of ancient lava flows, to better understand planetary processes and evolution.
Through its CLPS initiative, or Commercial Lunar Payload Services, NASA is furthering the understanding of the Moon's environment and helping prepare for future human missions to the lunar surface, as part of the agency's Moon to Mars exploration approach.
'As NASA prepares for future human exploration of the Moon, the CLPS initiative continues to support a growing lunar economy with American companies,' said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. 'Understanding the formation of the Gruithuisen Domes, as well as the ancient lava flows surrounding the landing site, will help the U.S. answer important questions about the lunar surface.'
Firefly's first lunar delivery is scheduled to launch in mid-January and will land near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium, on the northeast quadrant of the Moon's near side. Firefly's second lunar mission includes two tasks: a lunar orbit drop-off of a satellite combined with a delivery to the lunar surface on the far side and a delivery of a lunar orbital calibration source, scheduled in 2026.
'Firefly will deliver six instruments to understand the landing site and surrounding vicinity,' said Chris Culbert, manager of the CLPS initiative at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
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