Dec 10, 2024
MEDIA ADVISORYM24-155
As part of NASAâs CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Firefly Aerospaceâs Blue Ghost Mission One lander will carry 10 NASA science
and technology instruments to the Moonâs near side.
Credit: Firefly Aerospace
NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EST Tuesday, Dec. 17, to discuss the agency science and technology flying aboard Firefly Aerospaceâs first delivery to the Moon as part
of the NASAâs CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign.
Audio of the call will livestream on the agencyâs website at:
https://www.nasa.gov/live
Briefing participants include:
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Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
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Ryan Watkins, program scientist, Exploration Science Strategy and Integration Office, NASA Headquarters
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Jason Kim, chief executive officer, Firefly Aerospace
To participate by telephone, media must RSVP no later than two hours before the briefing to: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Fireflyâs Blue Ghost lunar lander will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASAâs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The six-day launch window opens no earlier
than mid-January 2025.
The lunar mission, named Ghost
Riders in the Sky, will land near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium, a more than 300-mile-wide basin located in the northeast quadrant of the Moonâs near side. The mission will carry 10 NASA instruments and first-of-their-kind
demonstrations to further our understanding of the Moonâs environment and help prepare for future human missions to the lunar surface, as part of the agencyâs Moon to Mars exploration approach.
Science investigations on this flight include testing lunar subsurface drilling, regolith sample collection, global navigation satellite system abilities, radiation tolerant computing, and lunar dust mitigation. The data captured could also benefit humans on
Earth by providing insights into how space weather and other cosmic forces impact Earth.
Under the CLPS model, NASA is investing in commercial delivery services to the Moon to enable industry growth and support long-term lunar exploration. As a primary customer for CLPS
deliveries, NASA is to be one of many customers on future flights.
For updates, follow on:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/
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