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NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Views Blue Ghost on Moon’s Surface
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By NASA
En esta ilustración se muestra al telescopio NICER (a la izquierda) montado en la Estación Espacial Internacional y al telescopio LEXI (a la derecha) sujeto a la parte superior del módulo Blue Ghost de Firefly Aerospace.NASA/Firefly Aerospace La Estación Espacial Internacional sustenta una amplia gama de actividades científicas, desde la observación de nuestro universo hasta el logro de avances en investigaciones médicas, y es un campo de pruebas activo en la tecnología para futuras misiones de exploración en la Luna y más allá. La misión Blue Ghost 1 de Firefly Aerospace aterrizó en la Luna el 2 de marzo de 2025, dando inicio a las operaciones científicas y tecnológicas en su superficie, las cuales incluyen tres experimentos que fueron evaluados o habilitados con las investigaciones de la estación espacial. Estos proyectos están ayudando a los científicos a estudiar la meteorología espacial, la navegación, y el desempeño de las computadoras en el espacio, los cuales son conocimientos cruciales para futuras misiones a la Luna.
Uno de los experimentos, el Generador de imágenes de rayos X heliosférico para el entorno lunar (LEXI, por sus siglas en inglés), es un pequeño telescopio diseñado para estudiar el entorno magnético de la Tierra y su interacción con el viento solar. Al igual que el telescopio Explorador de la composición interior de las estrellas de neutrones (NICER, por sus siglas en inglés) que está montado fuera de la estación espacial, LEXI observa las fuentes de rayos X. LEXI y NICER observaron la misma estrella en rayos X para calibrar el instrumento de LEXI y analizar mejor los rayos X emitidos desde la atmósfera superior de la Tierra, que es el objetivo principal de LEXI. El estudio de LEXI sobre la interacción entre el viento solar y la magnetosfera protectora de la Tierra podría ayudar a los investigadores a desarrollar métodos para salvaguardar la futura infraestructura espacial y comprender cómo responde esta frontera a las condiciones meteorológicas en el espacio.
Otros investigadores enviaron a la Luna el Sistema informático tolerante a la radiación (RadPC, por sus siglas en inglés) para realizar pruebas sobre cómo las computadoras pueden recuperarse de fallas relacionadas con la radiación. Antes de que RadPC volara a bordo de Blue Ghost, los investigadores hicieron pruebas con una computadora tolerante a la radiación en la estación espacial y desarrollaron un algoritmo para detectar posibles desperfectos en el hardware y evitar fallas críticas. RadPC tiene como objetivo demostrar la resistencia de las computadoras en el entorno de radiación de la Luna. La computadora puede medir su propia salud en tiempo real, y RadPC puede identificar un punto defectuoso y repararlo en segundo plano, según sea necesario. Los conocimientos adquiridos con esta investigación podrían mejorar el hardware informático para futuras misiones en el espacio profundo.
Además, el Experimento del receptor lunar de GNSS (LuGRE, por sus siglas en inglés) situado en la superficie de la Luna ha recibido oficialmente una señal del Sistema Global de Navegación por Satélite (GNSS, por sus siglas en inglés) a la distancia más lejana de la Tierra. Estas son las mismas señales para la navegación que se utilizan en la Tierra en todo, desde teléfonos inteligentes hasta aviones. A bordo de la Estación Espacial Internacional, el Banco de Pruebas de Navegación y Comunicaciones (NAVCOM, por sus siglas en inglés) ha llevado a cabo pruebas de un sistema de respaldo para el GNSS de la Tierra utilizando estaciones terrestres como un método alternativo para la navegación lunar cuando las señales del GNSS puedan tener limitaciones. Unir los sistemas existentes con soluciones emergentes específicas para la navegación lunar podría ayudar a dar forma al modo en que las naves espaciales navegan por la Luna en futuras misiones.
La Estación Espacial Internacional funciona como un importante banco de pruebas para las investigaciones que se llevan a cabo en misiones como Blue Ghost y continúa sentando las bases para las tecnologías del futuro.
Destiny Doran
Equipo de Comunicaciones de Investigaciones en la Estación Espacial Internacional
Read this story in English here.
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By NASA
1 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) imaged Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 on the Moon’s surface on March 7, just under 24 hours after the spacecraft landed.
Later that day Intuitive Machines called an early end of mission for IM-2, which carried NASA technology demonstrations as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign.
The Intuitive Machines IM-2 Athena lander, indicated here with a white arrow, reached the surface of the Moon on March 6, 2025, near the center of Mons Mouton. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) imaged the site at 12:54 p.m. EST on March 7.NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University The IM-2 mission lander is located closer to the Moon’s South Pole than any previous lunar lander.
LRO is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Launched on June 18, 2009, LRO has collected a treasure trove of data with its seven powerful instruments, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge about the Moon. NASA is returning to the Moon with commercial and international partners to expand human presence in space and bring back new knowledge and opportunities.
More on this story from Arizona State University’s LRO Camera website
Media Contact:
Nancy N. Jones
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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Last Updated Mar 25, 2025 Related Terms
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) View the full article
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By NASA
If you design a new tool for use on Earth, it is easy to test and practice using that tool in its intended environment. But what if that tool is destined for lunar orbit or will be used by astronauts on the surface of the Moon?
NASA’s Simulation and Graphics Branch can help with that. Based at Johnson Space Center in Houston, the branch’s high-fidelity, real-time graphical simulations support in-depth engineering analyses and crew training, ensuring the safety, efficiency, and success of complex space endeavors before execution. The team manages multiple facilities that provide these simulations, including the Prototype Immersive Technologies (PIT) Lab, Virtual Reality Training Lab, and the Systems Engineering Simulator (SES).
Lee Bingham is an aerospace engineer on the simulation and graphics team. His work includes developing simulations and visualizations for the NASA Exploration Systems Simulations team and providing technical guidance on simulation and graphics integration for branch-managed facilities. He also leads the branch’s human-in-the-loop Test Sim and Graphics Team, the Digital Lunar Exploration Sites Unreal Simulation Tool (DUST), and the Lunar Surface Mixed-Reality with the Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) projects.
Lee Bingham demonstrates a spacewalk simulator for the Gateway lunar space station during NASA’s Tech Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Image courtesy of Lee Bingham Bingham is particularly proud of his contributions to DUST, which provides a 3D visualization of the Moon’s South Pole and received Johnson’s Exceptional Software of the Year Award in 2024. “It was designed for use as an early reference to enable candidate vendors to perform initial studies of the lunar terrain and lighting in support of the Strategy and Architecture Office, human landing system, and the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program,” Bingham explained. DUST has supported several human-in-the-loop studies for NASA. It has also been shared with external collaborators and made available to the public through the NASA Software Catalog.
Bingham has kept busy during his nearly nine years at Johnson and said learning to manage and balance support for multiple projects and customers was very challenging at first. “I would say ‘yes’ to pretty much anything anyone asked me to do and would end up burning myself out by working extra-long hours to meet milestones and deliverables,” he said. “It has been important to maintain a good work-life balance and avoid overcommitting myself while meeting demanding expectations.”
Lee Bingham tests the Lunar Surface Mixed Reality and Active Response Gravity Offload System trainer at Johnson Space Center. Image courtesy of Lee Bingham Bingham has also learned the importance of teamwork and collaboration. “You can’t be an expert at everything or do everything yourself,” he said. “Develop your skills, practice them regularly, and master them over time but be willing to ask for help and advice. And be sure to recognize and acknowledge your coworkers and teammates when they go above and beyond or achieve something remarkable.”
Lee Bingham (left) demonstrates a lunar rover simulator for Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot Charlie Duke. Image courtesy of Lee Bingham He hopes that the Artemis Generation will be motivated to tackle difficult challenges and further NASA’s mission to benefit humanity. “Be sure to learn from those who came before you, but be bold and unafraid to innovate,” he advised.
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By NASA
This compressed, resolution-limited gif shows the view of lunar sunset from one of the six Stereo Cameras for Lunar-Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS) 1.1 cameras on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander, which operated on the Moon’s surface for a little more than 14 days and stopped, as anticipated, a few hours into lunar night. The bright, swirly light moving across the surface on the top right of the image is sunlight reflecting off the lander. Images taken by SCALPSS 1.1 during Blue Ghost’s descent and landing, as well as images from the surface during the long lunar day, will help researchers better understand the effects of a lander’s engine plumes on the lunar soil, or regolith. The instrument collected almost 9000 images and returned 10 GB of data. This data is important as trips to the Moon increase and the number of payloads touching down in proximity to one another grows. The SCALPSS 1.1 project is funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Game Changing Development program. SCALPSS was developed at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, with support from Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.NASA/Olivia TyrrellView the full article
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By NASA
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
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Last Updated Mar 17, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Missions Artemis Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) View the full article
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