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muriel_volestrangler

(103,492 posts)
Sun Apr 27, 2025, 05:59 AM 22 hrs ago

'We learned so much that we didn't know': Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost moon lander mission was full of surprises

The Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost Mission 1 safely touched down on March 2 within the targeted Mare Crisium landing zone. Plopping down on its four landing legs, the spacecraft delivered ten science instruments and technology demonstration gear through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
...
The LISTER drill, plowing down an unprecedented three feet instead of a projected 10 feet, "did hit some really hard rock formations," related Kim, "and that's the whole discovery. We learned so much that we didn't know."
...
"Nobody has ever done noon operations on the lunar surface. We found out that it's hotter than expected and modeled." It actually starts sooner and it lasts longer, Kim said, observing that the temperature swings on the moon "were really, really crazy."
...
Information gleaned from the short foray into lunar night, said Kim, shows that there are ways to design lunar lander systems in a modular way to survive and thrive in the night.

https://www.space.com/space-exploration/private-spaceflight/we-learned-so-much-that-we-didnt-know-firefly-aerospaces-blue-ghost-moon-lander-mission-was-full-of-surprises

Proper science and innovation - when a private company and NASA work together, it can go well, if the private company isn't grandstanding.
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'We learned so much that we didn't know': Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost moon lander mission was full of surprises (Original Post) muriel_volestrangler 22 hrs ago OP
If we can no longer afford services multigraincracker 21 hrs ago #1

multigraincracker

(35,492 posts)
1. If we can no longer afford services
Sun Apr 27, 2025, 07:00 AM
21 hrs ago

for our citizens that are saving lives, I’m all for cutting these programs too. Then blame it on Musk.

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