NASA hired Firefly Aerospace to send four hopping drones to the Moon in 2028 to map the lunar surface and scout landing sites for future crewed missions.

What happened

NASA announced a project called MoonFall, in which Firefly Aerospace will launch one of its Elytra Dark spacecraft to the Moon sometime in 2028. The spacecraft will carry four 550-pound hopping drones built by CalTech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Thirty miles above the lunar surface, Elytra will release the drones to descend independently, where they will spend 14 days hopping around the lunar south pole using rockets to jump and rockets to land, taking high-definition images to create the highest-resolution map of the lunar surface ever created and detect potential water ice caches.

Why it matters

Firefly is being paid $75 million（約120億円） to conduct the mission, but the real value lies in positioning itself as integral to NASA's broader Artemis program—which plans crewed lunar missions including Artemis IV. By scouting landing sites and demonstrating its proven spacecraft systems from its recent successful Moon landing, Firefly gains PR value and a competitive edge in bidding on future Artemis contracts. This helps the company pursue its goal to more than 10x its annual revenue from $160 million（約260億円） last year to more than $2.1 billion（約3400億円） by 2030, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence forecasts.

What to watch

The MoonFall mission is scheduled to launch in 2028. Successful completion will strengthen Firefly's track record as the first American company to land a spacecraft on the Moon upright in the past 50 years and boost its standing for competing on future NASA programs.