Preliminary Results from the NASA Instruments onboard Blue Ghost Mission 1

PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM THE NASA INSTRUMENTS ONBOARD BLUE GHOST MISSION 1. M. E. Banks1, K. Acosta2, H. Austin3, C. Barney3, C. Buhler2, C. I. Calle2, K. Carrington4, M. Carter5, D. Currie6, J. Davis3, M. Dillard7, F. Dovis8, M. DuPuis2, S. Fantinato9, Z. Fitzgerald4, A. Goode5, R.E. Grimm10, Z. Hull3, H. Jung4, D. Klumpar3, B.J. LaMeres3, R. W. Maddock11, C. M. Major3, M. Mehta12, R. Misra4, M. M. Munk11, M. Musmeci13, S. Nagihara14, P. Ngo4, C. P. Nguyen11, J. J. K. Parker1, J. Sample3, L. Sanasarian4, L. Springer3, D.E. Stillman10, J. Toth2, O. Tyrrell11, V. Vendiola4, B. M. Walsh15, R. N. Watkins,16, K. Zacny4. 1NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, [email protected], 2NASA Kennedy Space Center, 3Montana State University, 4Honeybee Robotics, 5Aegis Aerospace, Inc., 6University of Maryland, 7NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, 8Politecnico di Torino, 9Qascom Srl 10Southwest Research Institute, 11NASA Langley Research Center, 12NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, 13Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, 14Texas Tech University, 15Center for Space Physics, Boston University, 16NASA Headquarters. Introduction: As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander delivered ten NASA science and technology instruments to Mare Crisium on the near side of the Moon [1]. Blue Ghost Mission 1 (BGM1) launched on Jan 15, 2025 and landed on March 2, 2025 (Fig. 1). During the mission, Blue Ghost captured several images and videos, including imaging a total solar eclipse and a sunset from the surface of the Moon. The surface mission extended through one lunar day and multiple hours into the lunar night before concluding on March 16, 2025, as the longest surface duration commercial mission on the Moon to date. Preliminary Results: All ten NASA payloads (Fig. 2) successfully activated, collected data, and performed operations on the Moon; most performed first-of-their-kind science and technology demonstrations [2]: LISTER: The Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity is now the deepest robotic planetary subsurface thermal probe, drilling and acquiring thermal measurements at eight depths down to ~1-m depth [3]. LISTER provides a first-time demonstration of robotic thermal measurements at varying depths. LuGRE: The Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment acquired and tracked Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals from the GPS and Galileo constellations and calculated instantaneous navigation “fixes” enroute to and on the Moon’s surface for the first time. This achievement demonstrates that GNSS signals can be used to support navigation in cislunar space and at the Moon. RadPC: The Radiation Tolerant Computer System successfully operated through Earth’s Van Allen belts, throughout transit to and in lunar orbit, and on the lunar surface through the lunar day, during the solar eclipse, and into the lunar night. RadPC verified solutions to mitigate radiation effects on computers that could make future missions safer for equipment and more cost effective. EDS: The Electrodynamic Dust Shield successfully lifted and removed lunar regolith from surfaces using electrodynamic forces. This technology demonstrates a promising solution for dust mitigation on future lunar and interplanetary surface operations. LMS: The Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder successfully deployed sensors to study the Moon’s interior by measuring electric and magnetic fields. LMS enables characterization of the interior of the Moon to depths over 1000 km, or more than half the distance to the Moon's center. LEXI: The Lunar Environment heliospheric Xray Imager captured X-ray images to study the interaction of the solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field. Results are providing insights into how space weather and other cosmic forces surrounding Earth affect the planet. NGLR: The Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector has already successfully reflected and returned laser light from multiple Lunar Laser Ranging Observatories (LLROs) on Earth. The LLRO in Grasse, France obtained three solid sequences of laser return measurements and returns with both the infrared (1064 nm) and Green lasers. The LLROs in Wettzell, Germany and Apache Point, in New Mexico (USA) have also obtained returns to date. Measurements utilizing NGLR will enable precise measurements of the Moon’s shape and distance from Earth, expanding our understanding of the Moon’s inner structure. Early observations show that the precision of the NGLR on BGM1 (NGLR-1) is better than results from returns from the Apollo 15 retroreflector by a factor as large as 17 [4]. SCALPSS: The Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies instrument captured more than 9,000 images including during the spacecraft’s descent to the lunar surface, providing insights into the effects engine plumes have on the surface (Figs 3-4). The payload also operated on the surface during the lunar day, at the end of the solar eclipse, during the lunar sunset, and into the lunar night. LPV: The Lunar PlanetVac was deployed on the lander’s surface access arm and collected, transferred, and sorted lunar regolith particles using pressurized nitrogen gas. LPV successfully demonstrated a low-cost, low-mass solution for future robotic sample collection. RAC: The Regolith Adherence Characterization instrument examined how lunar regolith sticks to a range of materials exposed to the Moon’s environment. Results from RAC can help test, improve, and protect spacecraft, spacesuits, and habitats from abrasive lunar dust. Figure 1: The Blue Ghost lander in Mare Crisium (18.5623°N, 61.8103°E, -3650 meters elevation) captured by the Luinar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC). Blue Ghost landed on the rim of a 12-m diameter crater (center of image). North is up. LROC NAC M1495619099LR [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University]. Figure 2: The NASA payloads that flew and operated on Blue Ghost Mission 1 (NASA CLPS Task Order 19D): a) EDS, b) LEXI, c) LISTER, d) LMS electrode launcher (left, 1 of 4); magnetometer and mast stowed (right); not to scale and electronics box not shown, e) Lunar PlanetVac, f) RAC, g) RadPC, h) illustration of SCALPSS 1.1 cameras (3 of 6), i) LuGRE, and j) NGLR. Figure 3: SCALPSS images from short focal length camera 2 (SFL2) at: a) 10 m altitude, b) ~7 m altitude, and c) just prior to landing. d) HDR composite from SFL camera 0 (SFL0) from the surface [images provided by O. Tyrrell and J. Weisberger/NASA LaRC]. Figure 4: Image acquired from the SCALPSS short focal length camera number 3 (SFL3) showing the crater resulting from plume surface interactions (PSI) during descent and landing, the LISTER drill and hole (right of center), a wire connected to one of the deployed LMS electrodes (left of center), and a view of the surface rocks and regolith size distribution [image provided by C. Nguyen/NASA LaRC]. Summary. Analysis of data returned to Earth from these NASA instruments continues. The technology tested and data acquired during BGM1 will provide further insight into our understanding of the Moon, provide insights into how space weather and other cosmic forces may impact Earth, establish an improved awareness of the lunar environment ahead of future crewed missions, and will help plan for longduration surface operations under Artemis.. Acknowledgments: The ten NASA sponsored payloads that flew on BGM1 were supported by the LSITP and NPLP programs of NASA. References: [1] Nagihara S. et al. (2022), LPS MMXXII, Abstract #1390. [2] Banks M. E. et al (2022), LPS MMXXII, Abstract #2946. [3] Nagihara S. et al. (2025), European Lunar Symposium, this meeting. [4] Currie D. (2025), European Lunar Symposium, this meeting.