Firefly selects Honeybee Robotics to provide rover for lunar mission
CEDAR PARK, Texas - Firefly Aerospace in Cedar Park, Texas, has contracted Honeybee Robotics, a subsidiary of Blue Origin in Longmont, Colo., to provide a lunar rover for NASA’s upcoming mission to explore the Gruithuisen Domes, an unexplored region on the Moon’s near side. Scheduled for 2028, the mission is part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander will deliver the rover to the lunar surface following deployment from the company’s Elytra Dark transfer vehicle. The lander will operate for approximately 14 days, during which Honeybee’s rover will carry NASA instruments to study the domes’ unique geological composition.
"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."
Related: Firefly Aerospace’s commercial Blue Ghost lander delivers NASA tech to the moon
Mission objectives
The rover will transport components of NASA’s Lunar Vulkan Imaging and Spectroscopy Explorer (Lunar-VISE) suite, including cameras to document the landscape and spectrometers to analyze gamma ray and neutron emissions. It will traverse the southern edge of the Gruithuisen Gamma Dome, cross a boulder field, and reach the rim of a crater before returning to the lander to capture observations under varying sunlight conditions.
"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!"
This will be Firefly’s third lunar mission, following its successful 2025 landing in Mare Crisium and a second mission scheduled for 2026.
Jamie Whitney
Jamie Whitney joined the staff of Military & Aerospace Electronics and Intelligent Aerospace. He brings seven years of print newspaper experience to the aerospace and defense electronics industry.
Whitney oversees editorial content for the Intelligent Aerospace Website, as well as produce news and features for Military & Aerospace Electronics, attend industry events, produce Webcasts, oversee print production of Military & Aerospace Electronics, and expand the Intelligent Aerospace and Military & Aerospace Electronics franchises with new and innovative content.
