NASA has chosen Firefly Aerospace, who are based in Texas, to take multiple pieces of equipment to the far side of the Moon. This ‘commercial lander’ will be carrying two things which belong to NASA, plus another satellite that is part of an ESA (European Space Agency) mission with NASA. This satellite will circle round the moon and collect data and information.
NASA is giving a contract worth almost $112 million to launch something in 2026. This will be part of the Artemis program and it is called the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
The two payloads will be delivered to a special part of the Moon that is facing away from Earth. Scientists think this place is the best spot in our solar system for listening to radio signals because it is blocked from any signals from Earth. The observations need to happen during the 14 days when there is no daylight on the Moon.
Scientists launched a payload, or machine, to the moon to look way back into space history. This time is called the “Dark Ages” and started about 370,000 years after the Big Bang explosion. There’s no way to talk directly with Earth while on the far side of the Moon so this machine also has to be a messenger too!
Nicola Fox of NASA said that they are trying to discover more information about our universe. Going to the far side of the moon will help scientists get a better understanding on how things were in the early days of the universe.
Firefly is getting responsible for a lot of services related to taking things and delivering them from Earth to the Moon’s surface and orbit. This is the second time that Firefly has gotten an award for this type of job! In total, nine companies now have been given this same task, but Firefly is only the second one who got it for the ‘far side’ of the moon.
“We are really excited at NASA to have Firefly provide a CLPS delivery,” said Joel Kearns. He is the deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. This lunar landing will help us learn new things from the side of the Moon that we cannot normally see during the night time. Not only will new knowledge be gained but this could also open up possibilities for future research projects relating to our Solar System.
A total of three things will be sent away, which together weigh about 1,090 pounds or 494.5 kilograms.
The Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment-Night (LuSEE-Night) is a project that is helping us to understand the special radio waves from the Dark Ages around the Moon. To do this, scientists are using some kind of antennas and special radio receivers on a mission for NASA. The mission is managed by NASA’s Planetary Missions Program Office at their Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. LuSEE-Night is a collaboration between the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, the University of California, Berkeley, Space Science Laboratory and NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
Lunar Pathfinder is a special type of satellite that has been designed to help people explore the Moon. It will provide communication services like S-band and UHF links to receivers on the Moon’s surface and orbit, while also sending data back to Earth through an X-band link. The ESA (European Space Agency) teamed up with NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) so they could send Lunar Pathfinder into space and make it available for exploration projects.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in California is building something called a User Terminal. It’ll help the Lunar Pathfinder satellite do its job better—sharing data with LuSEE-Night and sending messages back to Earth from outer space. The UT has lots of special equipment, like a software-defined radio, an antenna, and a network switch. Altogether it should make sure that space communication runs very smoothly!
NASA is continuing its efforts to explore by getting companies and providers to send supplies to the moon. In the future, NASA’s Artemis program will likely use those deliveries to bring science experiments, like study of drug effects when it dissolves in liquid and researching how social media can help healthcare, for testing.
What is Firefly Aerospace?
Firefly Aerospace is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company, headquartered in Cedar Park, Texas. The company is developing a family of launch vehicles, including the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma launch vehicles, designed to deliver payloads to a variety of orbits. The company also offers launch services for small satellites, as well as CubeSats and other payloads, and is developing in-space transportation services for lunar and interplanetary missions.
Who owns Firefly Aerospace?
Firefly Aerospace is owned by Noosphere Ventures, a venture capital firm founded by Max Polyakov and several other investors.
