Firefly Aerospace has announced that it has been awarded a new contract from NASA worth $176.7 million. Under the contract, it will deliver five cargoes to the South Pole of the Moon.
The contract was awarded as part of the CLPS program. Its goal is to attract private companies to explore the South Pole. This is the fourth contract awarded to Firefly Aerospace by NASA under CLPS.
Under the terms of the new contract, Firefly Aerospace will land two rovers and three scientific instruments provided by NASA, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the University of Bern on the South Pole of the Moon in 2029. The mission cargo manifest includes:
- MoonRanger is NASA’s autonomous micro-rover, which will collect images and study soil composition to search for volatile substances.
- Stereo Cameras designed to study the impact of the descent vehicle’s exhaust on lunar regolith.
- A Laser Retroreflector Array, which will be used for accurate distance measurement and serve as a kind of beacon.
- The CSA rover, designed to explore remote areas of the South Pole, including regions in the zone of perpetual shadow. The scientific payload of the spacecraft includes visible and infrared cameras, a neutron spectrometer, a dosimeter, and a thermal imaging radiometer.
- A laser ionization mass spectrometer that will analyze the elemental and isotopic composition of lunar regolith.
Firefly Aerospace will use the Elytra orbital vehicle and the Blue Ghost lunar landing module to deliver these cargoes. After separation, Elytra will remain in a selenocentric orbit and will be used as a relay for Blue Ghost. After completing the landing mission, it will be involved in the Ocula project, which aims to commercially photograph the lunar surface and search for mineral deposits. The device is designed for a service life of at least five years.
It should be noted that Firefly Aerospace is currently the only private company that has successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon without any problems. In March 2025, the Blue Ghost probe successfully landed in Mare Crisium and completed its scientific program.
Firefly Aerospace’s next lunar mission is scheduled to launch in 2026. Its destination will be the far side of the Moon.
