Firefly’s first Blue Ghost lander before it shipped to the launch site ahead of the January 2025 mission. Photo: Firefly Aerospace

NASA awarded Firefly Aerospace a $179 million award to deliver six experiments to the Moon in 2028. This will be Firefly’s third lunar mission and it is its fourth NASA task order.

The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload (CLPS) initiative and will utilize Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander, its Elytra Dark orbital vehicle, and a rover from an industry provider. Firefly will deliver and operate six NASA instruments in the Gruithuisen Domes on the Moon’s near side in 2028.

This award comes as Firefly is preparing to launch its first Blue Ghost mission to the Moon on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in mid-January. Its second lunar mission is planned for 2026. 

In this mission profile, Firefly said the Elytra Dark transfer vehicle will deploy the Blue Ghost lander into lunar orbit and provide long-haul communications. Blue Ghost will land in the Gruithuisen Domes, deploy the rover, and support operations for more than 14 days on the lunar surface. NASA announced the demonstrations and experiments that will be onboard the mission, including a robotic arm to collect samples of lunar regolith. 

Firefly also said it has room for additional customers on the mission for orbital transfer or long-haul communications in cislunar space from Elytra, and lunar surface delivery. 

“Firefly is dedicated to flying annual missions to the Moon for both government and commercial customers as we continue to pave the way for a lasting lunar presence,” commented Brett Alexander, Firefly Aerospace chief revenue officer. “We’re seeing growing interest from organizations looking to unlock the Moon’s resources and build a robust lunar ecosystem, and we welcome additional partners to join us.”