The Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment-Night (LuSEE-Night) is a听pathfinder which will study the Moon鈥檚 radio environment and听potentially take a first look at a previously unobserved era in our cosmic history. It will use deployable antennas and radio receivers to observe sensitive radio waves from the Dark Ages for the first time.
LuSEE-Night, is a collaboration between the Department of Energy鈥檚 (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, the University of California, Berkeley, Space Science Laboratory, and NASA鈥檚 Science Mission Directorate. It is managed for NASA by the Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA鈥檚 Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Read more...
UPDATE September 2023 - Firefly wins add-on NASA CLPS contract for unique Moon-based astronomy mission
Following a听听to deliver an orbiter and two surface payloads to the Moon in 2026, Firefly has won an extended听听as part of NASA鈥檚听听to provide frequency calibration services for the mission鈥檚 radio astronomy payload called听. For this second CLPS mission from the company, Firefly will use a similar lander design as for听its 听in 2024 but also add an transfer stage to deliver the 280-kilogram听听spacecraft for ESA to lunar orbit. Pathfinder is a stepping stone towards听, ESA鈥檚听upcoming commercial navigation and communications constellation around Luna.
The Firefly lander itself will attempt a touchdown on the Moon鈥檚 farside carrying LuSEE-Night, which will push the boundaries of cosmology and lunarbound science by听听from our Universe鈥檚 鈥楧ark Age鈥欌�攁 slice of time right before the first stars were born. The lander will also host the 鈥淯ser Terminal鈥� payload to enable LuSEE-Night to communicate to and from Earth via Lunar Pathfinder. Firefly鈥檚 Elytra stage, itself also remaining in lunar orbit thereafter, will provide radio frequency calibrations for LuSEE-Night while also serving as another communications relay for the lander.