Jump to content

NASA, Firefly Invite Media to Discuss End of Blue Ghost Moon Mission


Recommended Posts

  • Publishers
Posted
blue-ghost-during-sunset-earth-on-horizo
This picture, captured from the surface of the Moon, shows Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander, which performed operations on the Moon from March 2, to March 16, 2025, in the foreground, and Earth in the sky above it. Credit: Firefly Aerospace

NASA and Firefly Aerospace will host a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT Tuesday, March 18, from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to discuss the company’s successful Blue Ghost Mission 1 on the Moon’s surface.

Watch the news conference on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

U.S. media interested in participating in person or remotely must request accreditation by 5 p.m., Monday, March 17, by contacting the NASA Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 or jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is online. To ask questions via phone, media must dial into the news conference no later than 15 minutes prior to the start of the call.

Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander touched down March 2, on the Moon’s Mare Crisium basin. The lander’s NASA payloads were activated, collected science data, and performed operations as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign to establish a long-term lunar presence. The mission is not designed to survive through the lunar night; however, Blue Ghost continued operations for five hours after lunar sunset on March 16.

Participants will include:

  • Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington 
  • Jason Kim, CEO, Firefly Aerospace
  • Ray Allensworth, spacecraft program director, Firefly
  • Adam Schlesinger, CLPS project manager, NASA Johnson

The Blue Ghost Mission 1 mission launched at 1:11 a.m., Jan. 15, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The lander delivered 10 NASA science investigations and technology demonstrations including testing and demonstrating lunar drilling technology, regolith (lunar rocks and soil) sample collection capabilities, global navigation satellite system abilities, radiation tolerant computing, and lunar dust mitigation. The data captured will benefit humans on Earth in many ways, providing insights into how space weather and other cosmic forces impact our home planet. 

NASA continues to work with multiple American companies to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface through the agency’s CLPS initiative. This pool of companies may bid on NASA contracts for end-to-end lunar surface delivery services, including all payload integration and operations, launching from Earth and landing on the surface of the Moon.

Through the Artemis campaign, commercial robotic deliveries will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities on and around the Moon to help NASA explore in advance of Artemis Generation astronaut missions to the lunar surface, and ultimately crewed missions to Mars.

For more information about the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative: 

https://www.nasa.gov/clps

-end-

Karen Fox / Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600  
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov

Natalia Riusech / Nilufar Ramji
Johnson Space Center, Houston 
281-483-5111 
natalia.s.riusech@nasa.gov / nilufar.ramji@nasa.gov 

Share

Details

Last Updated
Mar 17, 2025

View the full article

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Similar Topics

    • By NASA
      NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Re-Entry and Splashdown
    • By NASA
      NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Undocking
    • By NASA
      NASA's Space X Crew-9 Hatch Close
    • By NASA
      LOCATION: Texas State Capitol – Austin, Texas SUBJECT: Space Day activities at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas PHOTOGRAPHER: Lauren HarnettNASA March 17, 2025
      NASA is heading back to the state capitol in March for Space Day Texas, a recognition of achievements throughout Texas and a look ahead to the impact future human space exploration has on the Lone Star state.
      The two-day schedule of events and exhibits focusing on exploration, astronauts, and science, technology, engineering, and math education will include astronaut visits, interactive exhibits, and legislative proclamations.
      NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will share its accomplishments on the Capitol grounds from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT Tuesday, March 25, joining academic and commercial partners from across the state to share Texas’ blueprint for expanding humanity’s frontier in space.
      On Monday, March 24, exhibits will feature the Texas High School Aerospace Scholars program at the University of Texas Elementary Charter school, along with NASA Johnson’s Office of STEM Engagement, Orion program, and Lockheed Martin. Interactive events will feature NASA STEM engagement programs and hands-on exhibits.
      At 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 25, proclamations celebrating NASA’s 25th anniversary of continuous human presence on the International Space Station, the High School Aerospace Scholars program, and the continued progression of the Artemis campaign through NASA’s commercialization of cargo, crew, landers, spacesuits, and rovers will be read in the Texas House and Senate chambers, respectively. Following the proclamations, an Artemis II crew astronaut will participate in a live question and answer session on the front steps of the Capitol.
      NASA’s impact in Texas is strong. NASA Johnson has served as the iconic site for some of the greatest moments in American history, from landing humans on the Moon to assembling the International Space Station.
      For more than 60 years, NASA has led the world in human space exploration. Today, it is testing technologies on the Space Station that will help humanity push forward to the Moon and Mars. NASA’s workforce in Texas includes more than 10,000 aerospace employees and more than $2 billion in contracts and federal salaries in 2024.
      Learn more about NASA Johnson and its impact in Texas at:
      https://www.nasa.gov/johnson
      -end-
      Kelly Humphries
      Johnson Space Center, Houston
      281-483-5111
      kelly.o.humphries@nasa.gov

      View the full article
    • By NASA
      Students, mentors, and team supporters donning team colors watch robots clash on the playing field at the FIRST Robotics Los Angeles regional competition in El Segundo on March 16. NASA/JPL-Caltech Robots built by high schoolers vied for points in a fast-moving game inspired by complex ocean ecosystems at the FIRST Robotics Los Angeles regional competition.
      High school students who spent weeks designing, assembling, and testing 125-pound rolling robots put their fast-moving creations into the ring over the weekend, facing off at the annual Los Angeles regional FIRST Robotics Competition, an event supported by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
      Four of the 43 participating teams earned a chance to compete in April at the FIRST international championship tournament in Houston, which draws winning teams from across the country.
      Held March 14 to 16 at the Da Vinci Schools campus in El Segundo, the event is one of many supported by the nonprofit FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), which pairs students with STEM professionals. Teams receive the game rules, which change every year, in January and sprint toward competition, assembling their robot based on FIRST’s specifications. The global competition not only gives students engineering experience but also helps them develop business skills with a range of activities, from fundraising for their team to marketing.
      For this year’s game, called “Reefscape,” two alliances of three teams competed for points during each 2½-minute match. That meant six robots at a time sped across the floor, knocking into each other and angling to seed “coral” (pieces of PVC pipe) on “reefs” and harvesting “algae” (rubber balls). In the final seconds of each round, teams could earn extra points if their robots were able to hoist themselves into the air and dangle from hanging cages, as though they were ascending to the ocean surface.
      The action was set to a bouncy soundtrack that reverberated through the gym, while in the bleachers there were choreographed dancing, loud cheers, pom-poms, and even some tears.
      The winning alliance was composed of Warbots from Downey’s Warren High School, TorBots from Torrance’s South High School, and West Torrance Robotics from Torrance’s West High School. The Robo-Nerds of Benjamin Franklin High in Los Angeles’ Highland Park and Robo’Lyon from Notre Dame de Bellegarde outside Lyon, France, won awards that mean they’ll also get to compete in Houston, alongside the Warbots and the TorBots.
      NASA and its Robotics Alliance Project provide grants for high school teams across the country and support FIRST Robotics competitions to encourage students to pursue STEM careers in aerospace. For the L.A. regional competition, JPL has coordinated volunteers — and provided coaching and mentoring to teams, judges, and other competition support — for 25 years.
      For more information about the FIRST Los Angeles regional, visit:
      https://cafirst.org/frc/losangeles/
      News Media Contact
      Melissa Pamer
      Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
      626-314-4928
      melissa.pamer@jpl.nasa.gov
      2025-037
      Share
      Details
      Last Updated Mar 17, 2025 Related Terms
      Jet Propulsion Laboratory Explore More
      3 min read NASA Analysis Shows Unexpected Amount of Sea Level Rise in 2024
      Article 4 days ago 6 min read Cosmic Mapmaker: NASA’s SPHEREx Space Telescope Ready to Launch
      Article 1 week ago 5 min read NASA Turns Off 2 Voyager Science Instruments to Extend Mission
      Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
      Missions
      Humans in Space
      Climate Change
      Solar System
      View the full article
  • Check out these Videos

×
×
  • Create New...