Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 4 (NASA CLPS task order CS-6, lunar south pole)
Firefly's fourth lunar mission through NASA's CLPS initiative, awarded on 29 July 2025 as a USD 176.7 million task order (CS-6). An Elytra Dark orbital vehicle is to place a Blue Ghost lander in lunar orbit, and the lander is to touch down about 40 km south of Mons Malapert on the rim of Haworth crater, an area Firefly says is expected to hold water, hydrogen and other volatiles. NASA's award release and Firefly list five payloads: the MoonRanger rover with NASA's Neutron Spectrometer System to look for hydrogen, a Canadian Space Agency rover (Canadensys said in March 2026 that the CSA is terminating that rover mission), a laser ionization mass spectrometer (University of Bern), a laser retroreflector array and the SCALPSS plume cameras; NASA's 2026 CS-6 science page describes four NASA science payloads and does not list the Canadian rover. NASA targets the landing for 2029 and Firefly gives launch no earlier than 2029. It is a separate mission from Blue Ghost Mission 2 (far side) and Mission 3 (Gruithuisen Domes).
Objective. Deliver NASA-sponsored payloads to the lunar south pole and operate on the surface for more than 12 days, including MoonRanger's neutron-spectrometer search for hydrogen in the regolith, as part of what Firefly describes as evaluating the south pole's resources such as hydrogen and water. The July 2025 award announcements listed two rovers and three instruments; one rover was the Canadian Space Agency's, and in March 2026 Canadensys said the CSA is terminating work on its Lunar Rover Mission.
Facts
- Kind
- Spacecraft
- Mission type
- Prospecting
- Target
- MoonLunar south pole region, about 40 km south of Mons Malapert on the rim of Haworth crater (Firefly); exact coordinates not publishedOn the Moon map: Haworth crater
- Launch
- Planned, no earlier than 2029Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.
- Landing
- Planned 2029 (target)Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.
- Phase
- In developmentNASA release 25-046 (2025-07-29) awarded the task order with landing targeted for 2029; Firefly's mission page (undated, accessed 2026-10-28) gives launch no earlier than 2029; Firefly's Q2 2026 results (SEC Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1, 2026-08-11) report completion of the Preliminary Design Review for the south-pole Blue Ghost mission. Not launched.
- Outcome
- Not applicable
- Why it is included
- Stated resource objective
What comes next
Next recorded dates are plans, not results.
Launch: Planned, no earlier than 2029Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.
Landing: Planned 2029 (target)Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.
Participants
Operators, payload owners, carriers and customers are recorded separately.
| Organization | Role |
|---|---|
| Firefly Aerospace | Operator |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Customer |
Carried on this mission
Resources and evidence
| Resource | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Water ice | Targeted |
| Volatiles | Targeted |
Open evidence gaps
- Launch vehicle not named in the NASA or Firefly sources reviewed.
- No 2026 NASA statement giving a dated schedule was found; the 2029 date rests on NASA's July 2025 award release and Firefly's undated current mission page (launch no earlier than 2029).
- NASA's CS-6 science page (updated 2026-05-04) counts four NASA CLPS science payloads and omits the Canadian Space Agency rover, while NASA's award release and Firefly list five; no 2026 source reviewed states whether the Canadian rover remains on the manifest. Canadensys stated on 2026-03-19 that the CSA is terminating work on its Lunar Rover Mission; the CSA is therefore not recorded as a participant here (see Canadian Lunar Rover Mission (CSA Lunar Rover Mission, LRM)).
- Firefly's Q2 2026 filing refers to 'Blue Ghost's South Pole mission' without the Mission 4 or CS-6 name; the identification with Mission 4 is inferred because it is the only south-pole Blue Ghost mission in Firefly's July 2025 release. The same filing reports a separate USD 144 million CLPS award for a 'rapid Blue Ghost lander mission' (Firefly's sixth contracted lunar mission), which is not described as a south-pole mission and is not this record.
- Exact landing coordinates not published.
Sources
15 excerpts from 6 publicationsOne web address counts as one publication.
NASA has awarded Firefly Aerospace of Cedar Park, Texas, $176.7 million to deliver two rovers
The company's lunar lander is targeted to land at the Moon's South Pole region in 2029.
This is Firefly's fifth task order award and fourth lunar mission through CLPS.
The Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost Mission 4 lander will deliver four NASA CLPS science payloads to the lunar south pole.
It will carry a neutron spectrometer capable of detecting hydrogen in lunar soil up to 1 meter deep.
targeted to launch no earlier than 2029, will utilize Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander and Elytra Dark orbital vehicle
Firefly's Blue Ghost lander will touch down in the Moon's south pole region, approximately 40 km south of Mons Malapert on the rim of the Haworth Crater.
This unique area of the Moon is expected to have water, hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide, and other volatiles that could be utilized as resources for future human and robotic missions.
was awarded a $176.7 million NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract to deliver five NASA-sponsored payloads to the Moon's south pole in 2029.
The NASA-sponsored payloads onboard Blue Ghost include two rovers – the MoonRanger rover and a Canadian Space Agency rover
The mission will utilize Firefly's Elytra orbital vehicle and Blue Ghost lunar lander to enable payload operations that include evaluating the Moon's south pole resources, such as hydrogen, water, and other minerals
for more than 12 days on the lunar surface
The first two Elytra Dark vehicles will launch as part of Blue Ghost Mission 2 to the far side of the Moon in 2026 and Blue Ghost Mission 3 to the Gruithuisen Domes in 2028.
Completed the Preliminary Design Review for Blue Ghost's South Pole mission
the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is terminating work on the Lunar Rover Mission (LRM), as shown in their 2026-27 Departmental Plan.
Cite this record
SpaceMiningData, “Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 4 (NASA CLPS task order CS-6, lunar south pole)”, dataset version a00fa2c68a45, built 2026-11-11, https://spaceminingdata.com/missions/firefly-blue-ghost-m4.html. Record checked 2026-10-28.