Thomas Zurbuchen

One demonstration closer to delivering VIPER to the Moon.

We just completed a risk-reduction test campaign with @NASA: running a full offload with a VIPER Mobility Ground Research Unit (MGRU) before doing so on the lunar surface.

We proved out the full concept of operations with our flight-like offloader: the complete offload sequence, nominal and off-nominal, ran end-to-end across the full range of lander tilt angles, with joint mission operations and NASA commanding the rover remotely. Stay tuned for images of our flight offloader, which is being fabricated now!

And there it is

NISAR is one big step closer to beginning its mission to study Earth’s changing surfaces 🌏

Today, the satellite successfully unfurled its 39-foot-wide (12-meter-wide) antenna reflector. It’s the largest reflector NASA has ever deployed in space! go.nasa.gov/41Iu20T

We’re over the Moon to share another #BlueGhost win. Firefly was awarded another @NASA CLPS contract for a 4th mission to the Moon! We’re taking our landing experience to the South Pole with 2 rovers and 3 instruments to evaluate the Moon’s resources. fireflyspace.com/news/firefly-a…

Liftoff of TRACERS!

NASA’s IMAP spacecraft has been unboxed! 📦✨

Fresh out of its shipping container at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) is getting prepped for space.

IMAP will serve as a modern-day celestial cartographer, mapping the boundary where the solar wind meets interstellar space. Launch is targeted no earlier than September 2025.

More: go.nasa.gov/4kP4feK

"You’re punching a generation-size hole, maybe a multigenerational hole, in the scientific and technical workforce. You don’t just Cryovac these people and pull them out when the money comes back. People are going to move on.”

scientificamerican.com/article/propos…

On Tuesday, Dr. Nicola Fox from @NASA emphasized the importance of continued support for the CLPS program and its role in long-term human space exploration!

Dolphin cam!!!

#BlueGhost signing off with one final message from the Moon. Thank you for the unforgettable journey. 💙 #BGM1

#BlueGhost got her first diamond ring! Captured at our landing site in the Moon’s Mare Crisium around 3:30 am CDT, the photo shows the sun about to emerge from totality behind Earth. Hope to have more shots to share soon! #BGM1

Athena completed her scheduled 492-second main engine Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) burn at 6:27 a.m. CST on March 3 and is currently orbiting the Moon. Over the next several hours, flight controllers plan to analyze data to verify the lander’s targeted circular orbit and confirm Athena’s expected landing time.

Athena continues to be in excellent health and is expected to send lunar orbit selfies over the next two days before a landing attempt on March 6.
(3MAR2025 0750 CST)
#AdLunam #IM2 #Athena

Blue Ghost’s shadow seen on the Moon’s surface! We’ll continue to share images and updates throughout our surface operations. #BGM1

Would you look at that view! #BlueGhost captured its first image on the Moon that embodies everything this bold, unstoppable Firefly team has worked so hard for over the last 3+ years. And we’re just getting started! Find out what's next for #BGM1 fireflyspace.com/news/firefly-a…