Jeff Bezos can now taunt Elon Musk: I'm building a moon rover for NASA, when can Tesla do that?
(2025/03/26)
- Reference: 1742973975
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/03/26/firefly_aerospac_honeybee_rover/
- Source link:
Elon Musk may have launched hundreds of rockets and sent his own Tesla Roadster into space, but rival billionaire Jeff Bezos will soon be able to boast he’s built a moon rover.
Firefly Aerospace, the private space company that recently [1]landed its Blue Ghost craft on the Moon – more on that later - on Tuesday announced it picked Bezos’s outfit Honeybee Robotics to build a rover for NASA.
The vehicle is scheduled to fly in 2028 on a mission to explore the Gruithuisen Domes on the Moon’s near side, a location humans have never visited in person or with robots. NASA [2]describes the Domes as “a geologic puzzle” as observations made by spacecraft and humans wielding telescopes led to development of a theory they were “formed by a magma rich in silica, similar in composition to granite.”
[3]
The presence of cooled magma suggests the Moon once hosted volcanic activity, and granite suggests possible overlap between terrestrial and lunar geological history. Volcanos often produce lovely subterranean tubes that could be handy spots for Lunar colonies because they would be shielded from radiation.
[4]
[5]
Investigating lunar volcanos is therefore a fine thing to do, both out of pure scientific interest and because it could help future lunar exploration.
In December 2024 NASA [6]chose Firefly Aerospace to carry six experiments to the Domes. At the time, Firefly [7]promised to use its own Blue Ghost lunar lander, Elytra Dark orbital vehicle, and “a rover from an industry provider” on the mission.
[8]
On Tuesday Firefly [9]revealed Honeybee Robotics is that industry provider. Honeybee is a part of Blue Origin, Bezos’s space company.
Details of the rover’s design haven’t been revealed, but Firefly posted the picture below to depict what it thinks the machine will look like.
[10]
Honeybee's rover and Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost lander - Click to enlarge
The rover’s mission plan calls for it to travel along the southern edge of the Gruithuisen Gamma Dome and then pass through a boulder field to reach the rim of a recent impact crater. It will then roll back to the lander just before the end of a lunar day “to enable repeat observations of boulder targets at different solar illumination angles.”
[11]NASA rewrites Moon mission goals in quiet DEI retreat
[12]Athena Moon lander officially FOADs – falls over and dies – in crater
[13]SpaceX's 'Days Since Starship Exploded' counter made it to 48. It's back to zero again now
[14]Satnav systems built for Earth used by Blue Ghost lander as it approached the Moon
Honeybee and Firefly have already worked together on the Lunar PlanetVac and LISTER subsurface drill that made it to the Moon earlier this month, when the latter company’s Blue Ghost lander became the first privately-operated vehicle to make a [15]successful touchdown on Earth’s sole permanent natural satellite.
That mission ended successfully on March 16th, around five hours after lunar night fell.
“Firefly met 100% of our mission objectives for Blue Ghost Mission 1,” the company [16]enthused .
[17]
The company’s [18]next mission for NASA is scheduled for 2026, when another Blue Ghost is bound for the dark side of the Moon. The European Space Agency and Australian company Fleet Space Technologies will also send payload on that mission.
The trip to Gruithuisen Dome will be Firefly’s third lunar mission. ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/03/blue_ghost_private_moon_success/
[2] https://science.nasa.gov/moon/lunar-volcanism/#:~:text=The%20Gruithuisen%20Domes%20are%20a,similar%20in%20composition%20to%20granite.&text=The%20Gruithuisen%20Domes%2C%20imaged%20by,Reconnaissance%20Orbiter%20Camera%20(LROC).
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z-PeVmbFpHz7u5rqzY-gHQAAAFg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z-PeVmbFpHz7u5rqzY-gHQAAAFg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z-PeVmbFpHz7u5rqzY-gHQAAAFg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/more-nasa-science-tech-will-fly-to-moon-aboard-future-firefly-flight/
[7] https://fireflyspace.com/news/firefly-awarded-179-million-nasa-contract-for-moon-delivery-to-gruithuisen-domes/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z-PeVmbFpHz7u5rqzY-gHQAAAFg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://fireflyspace.com/news/firefly-aerospace-selects-blue-origins-honeybee-robotics-to-provide-rover-for-lunar-mission-to-gruithuisen-domes/
[10] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/03/26/supplied_honeybee_rover_firefly_aerospace_blue_ghost.jpg
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/24/nasa_dei_artemis/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/07/athena_moon_probe_dies/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/07/spacex_starship_mission_fail/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/06/blue_ghost_lugre_module_acquires/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/03/blue_ghost_private_moon_success/
[16] https://fireflyspace.com/news/blue-ghost-mission-1-live-updates/
[17] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z-PeVmbFpHz7u5rqzY-gHQAAAFg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[18] https://fireflyspace.com/missions/blue-ghost-mission-2/
[19] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Firefly Aerospace, the private space company that recently [1]landed its Blue Ghost craft on the Moon – more on that later - on Tuesday announced it picked Bezos’s outfit Honeybee Robotics to build a rover for NASA.
The vehicle is scheduled to fly in 2028 on a mission to explore the Gruithuisen Domes on the Moon’s near side, a location humans have never visited in person or with robots. NASA [2]describes the Domes as “a geologic puzzle” as observations made by spacecraft and humans wielding telescopes led to development of a theory they were “formed by a magma rich in silica, similar in composition to granite.”
[3]
The presence of cooled magma suggests the Moon once hosted volcanic activity, and granite suggests possible overlap between terrestrial and lunar geological history. Volcanos often produce lovely subterranean tubes that could be handy spots for Lunar colonies because they would be shielded from radiation.
[4]
[5]
Investigating lunar volcanos is therefore a fine thing to do, both out of pure scientific interest and because it could help future lunar exploration.
In December 2024 NASA [6]chose Firefly Aerospace to carry six experiments to the Domes. At the time, Firefly [7]promised to use its own Blue Ghost lunar lander, Elytra Dark orbital vehicle, and “a rover from an industry provider” on the mission.
[8]
On Tuesday Firefly [9]revealed Honeybee Robotics is that industry provider. Honeybee is a part of Blue Origin, Bezos’s space company.
Details of the rover’s design haven’t been revealed, but Firefly posted the picture below to depict what it thinks the machine will look like.
[10]
Honeybee's rover and Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost lander - Click to enlarge
The rover’s mission plan calls for it to travel along the southern edge of the Gruithuisen Gamma Dome and then pass through a boulder field to reach the rim of a recent impact crater. It will then roll back to the lander just before the end of a lunar day “to enable repeat observations of boulder targets at different solar illumination angles.”
[11]NASA rewrites Moon mission goals in quiet DEI retreat
[12]Athena Moon lander officially FOADs – falls over and dies – in crater
[13]SpaceX's 'Days Since Starship Exploded' counter made it to 48. It's back to zero again now
[14]Satnav systems built for Earth used by Blue Ghost lander as it approached the Moon
Honeybee and Firefly have already worked together on the Lunar PlanetVac and LISTER subsurface drill that made it to the Moon earlier this month, when the latter company’s Blue Ghost lander became the first privately-operated vehicle to make a [15]successful touchdown on Earth’s sole permanent natural satellite.
That mission ended successfully on March 16th, around five hours after lunar night fell.
“Firefly met 100% of our mission objectives for Blue Ghost Mission 1,” the company [16]enthused .
[17]
The company’s [18]next mission for NASA is scheduled for 2026, when another Blue Ghost is bound for the dark side of the Moon. The European Space Agency and Australian company Fleet Space Technologies will also send payload on that mission.
The trip to Gruithuisen Dome will be Firefly’s third lunar mission. ®
Get our [19]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/03/blue_ghost_private_moon_success/
[2] https://science.nasa.gov/moon/lunar-volcanism/#:~:text=The%20Gruithuisen%20Domes%20are%20a,similar%20in%20composition%20to%20granite.&text=The%20Gruithuisen%20Domes%2C%20imaged%20by,Reconnaissance%20Orbiter%20Camera%20(LROC).
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z-PeVmbFpHz7u5rqzY-gHQAAAFg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z-PeVmbFpHz7u5rqzY-gHQAAAFg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z-PeVmbFpHz7u5rqzY-gHQAAAFg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/more-nasa-science-tech-will-fly-to-moon-aboard-future-firefly-flight/
[7] https://fireflyspace.com/news/firefly-awarded-179-million-nasa-contract-for-moon-delivery-to-gruithuisen-domes/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z-PeVmbFpHz7u5rqzY-gHQAAAFg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://fireflyspace.com/news/firefly-aerospace-selects-blue-origins-honeybee-robotics-to-provide-rover-for-lunar-mission-to-gruithuisen-domes/
[10] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/03/26/supplied_honeybee_rover_firefly_aerospace_blue_ghost.jpg
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/24/nasa_dei_artemis/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/07/athena_moon_probe_dies/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/07/spacex_starship_mission_fail/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/06/blue_ghost_lugre_module_acquires/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/03/blue_ghost_private_moon_success/
[16] https://fireflyspace.com/news/blue-ghost-mission-1-live-updates/
[17] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z-PeVmbFpHz7u5rqzY-gHQAAAFg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[18] https://fireflyspace.com/missions/blue-ghost-mission-2/
[19] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Far side
jake
"There is no dark side of the moon, really. Matter of fact, it's all dark. The only thing that makes it look light is the sun." —Gerry O'Driscoll
FTFY
SO ...
jake
... how long do you suppose it'll take DOGE to cancel the contract, and instead award it to another space junk provider?
"a location humans have never visited in person .."
PhilipN
Nicely trips off the tongue.
Almost like saying "We haven't been to Bognor yet this year."
Re: "a location humans have never visited in person .."
Ochib
Bugger Bognor - George V
Delivery Robots from Starship Technologies
Fruit and Nutcase
Did they considered Starship Technologies?
[1]https://www.starship.xyz/
[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Technologies
Handy if Amazon want to start a distribution hub on the moon - though NASA may find it impossible to cancel Amazon Prime
[1] https://www.starship.xyz/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Technologies
... and it will be fully self driving
ComputerSays_noAbsolutelyNo
-> this one is to conceal my identity, 'cos who knows when mocking Tesla will become terrorism
Domes on The Moon
that one in the corner
Hasn't Commander Straker already investigated those?
Along with that one on the ocean floor, of course.
The lesser of two evils
BartyFartsLast
Probably for the best that Elon isn't involved, a recall from the moon would be a bit of a problem
Re: The lesser of two evils
Doctor Syntax
Musk has already turned his nose up at the Moon and thinks we should ignore it and go to Mars instead. OTOH Amazon delivery might also miss the Moon and deliver to Mars's wheelie bin instead.
SnailFerrous
An underground volcano lair on the moon for Mr Bezos. How about that for oligarch one upmanship. Beat that Elon.
Jeff Bezos can now taunt Elon Musk
Simon Harris
And I thought the shape of Blue Origin was supposed to be Jeff Bezos's attempt at space willy waving.
Far side
> another Blue Ghost is bound for the dark side of the Moon.
There is no dark side of the Moon really. As a matter of fact it's all dark