Once Firefly's Blue Ghost lander touches down on the lunar surface, it will deploy Honeybee's rover to carry a suite of NASA instruments designed to study the domes' geological composition. These domes are thought to be formed by silica-rich volcanic activity, yet their precise origins remain a mystery due to their remote and rugged terrain.
"We're excited to support Firefly's mission to the Gruithuisen Domes by providing surface mobility, a key capability for lunar permanence," said Paul Ebertz, senior vice president of In-Space Systems at Blue Origin. "With this rover, Honeybee Robotics builds on its legacy of advanced robotics and hardware designed for exploration throughout our Solar System."
The mission architecture involves Firefly's Elytra Dark transfer vehicle placing the Blue Ghost lander into lunar orbit. Elytra will remain in orbit to serve as a communications relay while Blue Ghost descends to the Moon's surface, deploys the rover, and facilitates scientific operations for up to 14 Earth days.
"Firefly is proud to partner with Honeybee Robotics to help us explore the challenging Gruithuisen Domes terrain on our third mission to the Moon," said Shea Ferring, Chief Technology Officer at Firefly Aerospace. "The Firefly team has worked closely with Honeybee on two payloads - the Lunar PlanetVac and LISTER subsurface drill - that were successfully operated on our first Blue Ghost mission to the Moon. Their stellar team, robust rover solution, and flight proven technologies made Honeybee the obvious choice!"
Honeybee's rover will transport components of NASA's Lunar Vulkan Imaging and Spectroscopy Explorer (Lunar-VISE) suite. The system includes two lander-mounted cameras to document the landing zone and rover traverse, while the rover will host a multi-spectral infrared camera and a spectrometer capable of detecting gamma ray and neutron emissions.
During its traverse, the rover will navigate the southern margin of the Gruithuisen Gamma Dome, moving through a field of scattered boulders en route to the rim of a fresh impact crater. Before lunar nightfall, it will return to the lander to conduct additional imaging of the same targets under altered lighting conditions.
Firefly's third lunar mission will carry a total of six NASA-funded payloads aimed at deciphering the domes' composition and volcanic history, alongside other scientific and technological investigations. This follows the company's successful March 2025 Mare Crisium mission, which achieved 14 days of operations on the Moon's surface. A second Firefly lunar mission is already scheduled for launch in 2026 and will focus on orbital and far side lunar activities.
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