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6h ago

Firefly Wins $75 Million JPL Subcontract to Deliver Drones to Moon’s South Pole

The award gives Firefly a clear role in NASA’s Moon Base effort by funding cislunar transport of scouting drones that will map polar resources.

Rachel Thatcher, an avionics technician at Firefly Aerospace, reacts as Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander's successful landing is confirmed during the watch party at Haute Spot on March 2, 2025 in Cedar Park. The company has become a major player for NASA's long-term goal to establish a base on the surface of the moon. 

Overview

  • Firefly announced Tuesday that NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory awarded it a $75 million subcontract to carry four reconnaissance drones to the Moon’s south pole for the MoonFall mission with launch targeted no earlier than 2028.
  • Under the deal JPL will build and manage the drones while Firefly’s role is to provide its Elytra cislunar vehicle to transport and deploy the payloads and NASA will source the launch vehicle separately.
  • Firefly says Elytra will perform a roughly 45-day transit to the Moon, enter lunar orbit, execute a deorbit braking burn and deploy the drones about 50 kilometers above the south pole.
  • The JPL-built drones are designed to operate for a single lunar day of up to 14 Earth days, make multiple propulsive hops into permanently shadowed regions, and map candidate landing sites and volatile resources such as water ice.
  • The award strengthens Firefly’s commercial lunar manifest and lifted its stock about 19% on the announcement, but company statements also warn that timing, launch assignment and technical risks could affect the planned 2028 schedule.