NASA awarded Cedar Park-based Firefly Aerospace Inc. a $75 million contract to deliver drones to the moon’s south pole. The mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than 2028 and will support the agency’s long-term plans for a lunar base.
“NASA’s MoonFall is an incredible breakthrough mission well aligned with the bold innovation and successful execution that Firefly is known for,” Firefly CEO Jason Kim said. “This subcontract underscores our commitment to executing challenging missions that push the boundaries of lunar exploration.”
Through 2029, the agency is experimenting with access to the moon's south pole and plans to set up an initial base capability by 2032, with a semi-permanent crew presence expected to start sometime that year. As part of the goal, NASA has been doling out multi-million dollar contracts to independent companies and other government agencies.
For Firefly's mission, the company's Elytra spacecraft will carry NASA's MoonFall drones, which are propulsive drones built off the same technology used in the Ingenuity Mars helicopter, during a 45-day journey to the moon's south pole. The spacecraft will enter orbit before dropping the drones about 50 kilometers, or 31 miles, above the moon's surface.
Once there, the drones will operate for 14 days, or one lunar day, to survey terrain and identify safe landing zones for future Artemis missions.
Shares of Firefly climbed about 3% Wednesday following news of the NASA award.
Last year, Firefly became the first commercial company to successfully land on the moon. During that mission, several NASA-backed payload technologies were tested by Firefly over a 14-day period. They included equipment to test dust on the lunar surface, collect data on weather in space and drill into the moon’s surface.
Firefly previously secured $179 million for its next Blue Ghost mission and another $176.7 million for a 2029 mission to the moon’s south pole. Future Blue Ghost missions will carry government and commercial payloads, including one planned for next year.