Firefly Aerospace will send a nuclear-powered heating technology to the Moon in 2028, testing whether spacecraft can survive the lunar night\u2019s extreme cold. Zeno Power Systems will fly its Survive-the-Night Package aboard an existing Blue Ghost mission to the Moon\u2019s near side. Firefly plans to launch the mission no earlier than 2028.<\/p>\n
The experiment tackles a growing challenge for America\u2019s lunar ambitions. Reaching the Moon is becoming more achievable. Keeping spacecraft operating after sunset remains far more difficult.<\/p>\n
Zeno\u2019s package will operate after Blue Ghost completes its solar-powered daytime activities. Engineers will then study how the compact nuclear heating system performs during roughly 14 Earth days of darkness.<\/p>\n
Moon\u2019s brutal two-week night<\/p>\n
A lunar day presents one set of engineering challenges. The lunar night creates another. Firefly recorded temperatures above 230\u00b0F during Blue Ghost Mission 1\u2019s daytime operations. Conditions later dropped below minus 275\u00b0F after sunset.<\/p>\n
Solar-powered spacecraft face obvious limits once sunlight disappears. Batteries can store electricity, but extreme cold can threaten sensitive electronics and other critical hardware. That creates a major hurdle for longer missions. Future lunar infrastructure must operate beyond a single period of sunlight.<\/p>\n
The challenge becomes even tougher in permanently shadowed regions. Some areas on the Moon never receive direct sunlight. NASA and commercial companies are exploring technologies that could extend operations into those environments. Nuclear-powered heating represents one possible solution.<\/p>\n
Testing heat without sunlight<\/p>\n
Zeno\u2019s payload centers on a five-watt radioisotope heater unit containing americium-241. The radioactive material naturally releases energy as it decays. That process provides continuous thermal energy without depending on solar panels.<\/p>\n
The RHU will sit on a dedicated platform aboard Blue Ghost. The package includes communications, electrical power, and thermal management systems. Blue Ghost will first complete its scheduled payload operations during the lunar day. Once night arrives, Zeno\u2019s system will begin its demonstration and transmit operational data back to Earth.<\/p>\n
Tyler Bernstein, Zeno\u2019s CEO and co-founder, said surviving the lunar night will prove essential for sustained operations on the Moon<\/a>. The experiment will test whether a compact nuclear heat source can protect critical spacecraft systems when temperatures plunge. It could also provide data for missions targeting permanently shadowed regions.<\/p>\n Longer lunar missions<\/p>\n Firefly\u2019s upcoming demonstration follows Blue Ghost Mission 1\u2019s successful Moon landing in 2025. That mission also gave engineers direct measurements of the lunar surface\u2019s harsh thermal conditions.<\/p>\n