After landing on the moon with scientific and technological demonstrations of NASA on March 2, Blue Ghost Mission 1 of Firefly Aerospace concluded its mission on March 16. The analysis of the data returned to Earth of NASA instruments continues, benefiting future lunar missions.
As part of the CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative of NASA and the Artemis campaign, Blue Ghost Lunar Lander of Firefly book 10 Scientific and technological instruments of NASA in the mare crime basin on the side of the moon. During the mission, Blue Ghost captured several images and videos, including the imagery of a Total solar eclipse and a sunset from the surface of the moon. The mission lasted around 14 days, or the equivalent of a lunar day, and several hours after the lunar evening before ending.
“Blue Ghost Mission 1 of Firefly marks the longest surface surface duration mission on the moon to date, collecting extraordinary scientific data that will benefit humanity for the coming decades,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Directorate of the Scientific Mission at the NASA headquarters in Washington. “With the NASA CLPS initiative, American companies are now at the forefront of an emerging lunar economy that turns on the path to the agency’s exploration objectives on the moon and beyond.”
The 10 useful NASA charges have successfully activated, collected data and carried out operations on the Moon. Throughout the mission, Blue Ghost transmitted 119 gigabytes of return to the ground, including 51 gigabytes of scientific and technological data. In addition, all useful charges have had additional opportunities to lead science and collect more data for analysis, including during the eclipse and lunar sunset.
“Operating on the Moon is complex; Transporting 10 useful charges, more than what has never stolen in a Delivery Clps before, makes the mission much more impressive, “said Joel Kearns, deputy deputy administrator for exploration, scientific mission management, NASA seat. “The teams impatiently analyze their data, and we are extremely delighted with the expected scientific results which will be taken from this mission.”
Other achievements, many NASA instruments have carried out scientific and technological demonstrations first to their gender, in particular:
- THE Lunar instrumentation for underground thermal exploration with speed is now the thermal probe of the deepest robotic planetary underground, drilling up to 3 feet and the demonstration of robotic thermal measurements at variable depths.
- THE Lunar GNSS receiver experience The overall signals Satellite Systems (GNSS) acquired and followed, satellite networks such as GPS and Galileo, for the first time on the way to and on the surface of the Moon. The record success of Lugre’s payload indicates that GNSS signals could supplement other navigation methods and be used to support future Artemis missions. It also acts as a springboard to future navigation systems on Mars.
- THE Computer tolerant to radiation successfully operated in the transit through the Van Allen de Terre belts, as well as on the lunar surface in the lunar night, checking the solutions to alleviate the effects of radiation on computers which could make future missions safer for equipment and more profitable.
- THE Electrodynamic dust shield Levu and successfully removed the lunar, or regolith, surfaces using electrodynamic forces, demonstrating a promising solution for the attenuation of dust on future lunar and interplanetary surface operations.
- THE Sounding Lunar magnetotorellorical successfully deployed five sensors to study the interior of the moon by measuring the electric and magnetic fields. The instrument allows scientists to characterize the interior of the moon at depths up to 700 miles, or more than half of the distance from the center of the moon.
- THE Lunar environment Imaging X -ray Captured a series of x -ray images to study the interaction of the solar wind and the magnetic field of the earth, providing information on how the space weather and other cosmic forces surrounding the earth affect the planet.
- THE Next generation lunar retroreflector The laser light reflected and successfully returned by two lunar laser observatories going, back of the measures allowing scientists to measure precisely the form and distance of the moon of the earth, expanding our understanding of the inner structure of the moon.
- THE Stereo cameras for lunar plume studies The instrument captured about 9,000 images during the lunar descent and the touch of the space machine on the moon, providing information on the effects that the plumes of the engine have on the surface. The payload also worked during the lunar sunset and in the lunar night.
- THE Planetvac Lunar Was deployed on the access arm on the surface of the landing and succeeded, successfully collected, transferred and sorted the lunar floor using pressure nitrogen under pressure, demonstrating a low -mass and low -mass solution for the future collection of robotic samples.
- THE Characterization of regolith membership The instrument examined how the lunar regolith sticks to a range of materials exposed to the moon environment, which can help test, improve and protect the spacecraft, space combinations and habitats of abrasive lunar dust or regolith.
Captured data will benefit humanity in several ways, providing an overview of how space weather and other cosmic forces can have an impact on earth. The establishment of improved awareness of the lunar environment before future crew missions will help plan long -term surface operations under Artemis.
To date, five sellers have obtained 11 lunar deliveries under CLP and send more than 50 instruments to various places on the Moon, including the Lunar South Pole and the distant side.
Learn more about the NASA CLPS initiative:
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Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-617-4977
Alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Natalia Rudech / Nilufar Ramji
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
nataila.s.riusech@nasa.gov / / nullufar.ramji@nasa.gov
Antonia Jaramillo
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-501-8425
antonia.jaramiloboto@nasa.gov