Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS 1.x)¶
Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 1 · manifested · NASA payload
Stereo cameras under the lander that image the ground before, during and after touchdown. Stereo photogrammetry turns the images into 3D maps of how the engine plume erodes the regolith. SCALPSS 1.x is built from the spare hardware of SCALPSS 1.1, which flew on Blue Ghost Mission 1. The team's 2025-2026 slides describe four cameras with one lens type, aimed at the area under the main engine. Its point is thrust: NASA wanted SCALPSS on a lander with engines above 8,000 lbf, close to the scale of a crewed lander, and chose Blue Origin's Blue Moon MK1 for that.
PI: NASA's CT-3 page names Robert Maddock and Joseph Atkinson (Langley) as PIs. The team's January 2026 slides name Michelle Munk (retired) and Wesley Chambers as principal investigators, with Robert Maddock as project manager.
Built by: NASA Langley Research Center (lead), with NASA Marshall (principal investigator), as for the other SCALPSS units. (NASA center)
| Technology | landing-environment cameras (plume-surface interaction) |
| Moon Base need | DN-017 L, DN-018 L (The knowledge base's own matching, not NASA's: it matches SCALPSS on Blue Moon MK1 to DN-017 L and DN-018 L. The one link NASA makes is that DN-017 L's own row names SCALPSS, for its Blue Ghost flight. Both gaps ask for plume data 'at different sites and under different plume conditions (i.e. lander types)'. This unit adds a new lander type and a much larger engine: the team says it gives data 'close to HLS-scale'. NASA says the mission will 'reduce risk for future crewed Artemis landing missions in 2028'. A launch in late 2026 or early 2027 falls in Phase 1 (the study's reading).) |
| Route onto CLPS | STMD; No payload call for this flight. SCALPSS is an STMD Game Changing Development project, and the 1.x unit is paid by STMD GCD and SMD within the SCALPSS 1.1 project. NASA then chose the ride: task order CT-3 to Blue Origin, signed 24 July 2024 without competition. NASA's 'Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity' (reported by SpaceNews on 12 August 2024) says SCALPSS must fly on a lander with engines above 8,000 lbf, and that Blue Origin's MK1 serial number 1 was the only commercial south polar mission to meet it. CT-3 started at $6.1 million; USAspending now shows $18.72 million obligated, after a $12.5 million change order. That is the delivery's cost, not the payload's. SCALPSS was at first the only NASA payload on the flight; the LRA was added later (see bmp1-lra).; 2024-07-24 (CT-3 signed); 2024-08-06 (NASA's filing made public) |
| Timeline | first funding late 2018 (SCALPSS formed at Langley; SMD NPLP from FY2019); the 1.x unit is part of the SCALPSS 1.1 project (GCD, from October 2020); first flight test 2024-02-15 (SCALPSS 1.0 on IM-1); 2025-01-15 (SCALPSS 1.1, the same hardware line, on Blue Ghost Mission 1); selected 2024-07-24 (CT-3 task order signed); launch no earlier than fall 2026 (NASA, May 2026); early 2027 at the soonest (Blue Origin's CEO, per Wikipedia); NASA's 2024 filing wanted SCALPSS on the surface by the end of 2025; landing not in public sources |
| On the Moon | not yet flown |
| FO | none |
Flights before the Moon¶
- earlier lunar mission: Intuitive Machines IM-1 (Nova-C 'Odysseus'), SCALPSS 1.0, 2024-02-15 (launch); landed 2024-02-22. Four cameras with the same data storage unit and USB hub design. They worked in transit and on the surface, but took no plume data: the off-nominal descent kept the payload from getting altitude data, so it never started imaging.
"The SCALPSS 1.0 payload successfully operated during lunar transit, and on the lunar surface, however, no science data was collected."
— TechPort project 116401, description"preventing SCALPSS from powering on and triggering image acquisition during the descent sequence"
— NTRS 20250010973, pages 2-3
- earlier lunar mission: Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1, SCALPSS 1.1 (Mare Crisium), 2025-01-15 (launch); landed 2025-03-02. Six cameras on the same hardware design whose spares make up SCALPSS 1.x. It worked in transit, in lunar orbit, in descent and on the surface, took about 1,800 images in descent and landing, and met its full measurement objectives. Blue Ghost's engines are far smaller than Blue Moon MK1's.
"The SCALPSS 1.1 payload successfully operated during lunar transit, in lunar orbit, during lander descent, and on the lunar surface achieving its full measurement objectives."
— TechPort project 116401, description"the payload acquired and transferred to the lander approximately 1800 images"
— NTRS 20250010973, page 1 (abstract)
Heritage hardware¶
- spare flight hardware (SCALPSS 1.1): SCALPSS 1.x is made of the remaining SCALPSS 1.1 hardware: the data storage unit, USB hub and cameras of the line that flew on Blue Ghost Mission 1, with new camera mounts for the MK1 lander. The team calls it the 1.X system that 'will be flown once more'. The May 2024 plan was six cameras with focal lengths from 3.37 to 50 mm. By July 2025 it was a four-camera system aimed at the area under the main engine, and by January 2026 'one lens type'. Why it shrank is not stated.
"Data Storage Unit, USB Hub (SCALPSS 1.1 heritage) - utilizing new single and combo camera mounts for Mk1 lander"
— NTRS 20240005561, page 6 (May 2024)"The SCALPSS 1.X system will be flown once more on the upcoming Blue Origin MK1 Pathfinder/Blue Moon demo mission"
— NTRS 20250010973, page 6"4-camera system focusing on centralized area beneath the main engine"
— NTRS 20250007176, page 30 (July 2025)"4-camera system with 1 lens types"
— NTRS 20260000603, page 17 (January 2026)
- design heritage (Mars 2020 EDLCam): The first SCALPSS used flight-qualified hardware from the Mars 2020 entry, descent and landing cameras: the data storage unit and USB hub. SCALPSS 1.1 kept them, and 1.x keeps the 1.1 design.
"utilized heritage flight-qualified hardware from the Mars2020 Entry, Descent, and Landing Cameras (EDLCam)"
— NTRS 20250010973, page 2"This iteration included the same DSU and USB Hub"
— NTRS 20250010973, page 3 (SCALPSS 1.1)
- ground test heritage: The 1.x system went through vibration testing and was shipped to Blue Origin by July 2025, with integration to the lander planned for August 2025. In January 2026 the team listed it as 'delivered to vendor, awaiting mission'. Whether it was integrated, and tested with the lander, is not stated.
"SCALPSS 1.X System at Vibration Testing"
— NTRS 20250007176, page 30 (figure label)"Payload shipped to Blue Origin with integration to the lander upcoming (August)"
— NTRS 20250007176, page 37"Payload delivered to vendor, awaiting mission."
— NTRS 20260000603, page 17
Funding before the lunar flight¶
- STMD Game Changing Development and SMD, within the SCALPSS 1.1 project (TechPort 116401, GCD, Langley, from October 2020): the 1.x unit is made of spare 1.1 hardware. No amounts public, and no split by unit. (STMD GCD; SMD; from FY2021): amount not in public sources
"Funded by STMD/GCD and SMD as part of the SCALPSS 1.1 Project"
— NTRS 20240005561, page 6"The SCALPSS 1.1 project is funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate's Game Changing Development Program."
— Tiny NASA Cameras to Picture Interaction Between Lander, Moon’s Surface - NASA
- NASA purchase order to Protospace Mfg for 'SCALPSS 1.X camera brackets' (80NSSC25PA170, November 2024): the new mounts for the MK1 lander. Linked by its description. (NASA purchase order (NSSC); 2024): $20,244
"SCALPSS 1.X CAMERA BRACKETS"
— USAspending.gov, award SCALPSS, 80NSSC25PA170; PROTOSPACE MFG USA INC; amount 20244.0; start 2024-11-13"utilizing new single and combo camera mounts for Mk1 lander"
— NTRS 20240005561, page 6
- NASA purchase order to Alysium-Tech for aerospace USB 3.0 cables and harnesses for the SCALPSS cameras, USB hub and data storage unit (80NSSC22PA152, January 2022). Linked by its description. It belongs to the SCALPSS 1.1 build, whose spares make up 1.x; whether any of these harnesses are in the 1.x unit is not stated, so this is not this unit's cost. (NASA purchase order (NSSC); 2022): $53,789
"AEROSPACE USB 3.0 CABLE/HARNESS FOR SCALPSS CAMERA/USB HUB/DATA STORAGE UNIT"
— USAspending.gov, award SCALPSS, 80NSSC22PA152; ALYSIUM-TECH GMBH; amount 53789.49; start 2022-01-27
- The base design: SMD's NASA-Provided Lunar Payloads paid for SCALPSS 1.0 (IM-1) from FY2019. See im1-scalpss and bgm1-scalpss. (SMD NPLP; from FY2019): amount not in public sources
"SCALPSS 1.0 was funded by NASA's Science Mission Directorate through the NASA-Provided Lunar Payloads Program."
— Tiny NASA Cameras to Picture Interaction Between Lander, Moon’s Surface - NASA
How it got onto CLPS¶
"Funded by STMD/GCD and SMD as part of the SCALPSS 1.1 Project utilizing spare SCALPSS 1.1 hardware"
— NTRS 20240005561, page 6 (SCALPSS 1.x, Blue Origin Mk1-SN001)"the SCALPSS payload must be integrated on a lander having engines with thrust levels in excess of 8,000 lbf"
— NASA payload to fly on first Blue Origin lunar lander mission - SpaceNews, SpaceNews, quoting NASA's filing"Blue Origin is the only vendor conducting a commercial mission to the Lunar South Pole that meets NASA's requirements"
— NASA payload to fly on first Blue Origin lunar lander mission - SpaceNews"That task order, called CT-3, has not been publicized by either NASA or Blue Origin"
— NASA payload to fly on first Blue Origin lunar lander mission - SpaceNews"COMMERCIAL LUNAR PAYLOAD SERVICES (CLPS) TASK ORDER CT-3"
— USAspending.gov, award 80JSC024F0068, Blue Origin, LLC; signed 2024-07-24; obligated 18720211.0; base transaction 6100000.0; change order P00002 12497991.0"SCALPSS 1.x will be the sole NASA payload onboard the Blue Origin MK1-SN101 first demo flight"
— NTRS 20250007176, page 30 (22 Jul 2025)"Remaining SCALPSS 1.x hardware will be delivered to Blue Origin for integration to the first Mk1 test flight planned for mid-2025 as part of the CLPS CT-3 mission."
— TechPort project 116401, description
On the Moon¶
Manifested on Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 1, which NASA calls Moon Base I. The Endurance lander is to land on the Shackleton Connecting Ridge and demonstrate autonomous guidance, navigation and control, and cryogenic propulsion. It would be SCALPSS's first look at a lander of this size. Other SCALPSS units (Blue Ghost Mission 4, IM-5 and the four late-2028 landings) fly later.
"The mission will land on the Shackleton Connecting Ridge"
— NASA Provides Update on Moon Base Rovers, Landers, Missions - NASA"demonstrating autonomous guidance, navigation, and control, as well as cryogenic propulsion capabilities"
— Moon Base Phases - NASA
FO's role¶
Grade: none. No FO flight of SCALPSS or its NASA team, as for every other SCALPSS unit; no FO project, report or page names SCALPSS. FO flew plume-surface work by other teams: Auburn University's reduced-gravity crater measurements (TechPort 106726) and Zandef Deksit's ExoCam descent camera (TechPort 106700). No source ties them to SCALPSS, so that is the same topic only. FO also funds Blue Origin's Landing Lidar System (TechPort 158500), a landing sensor for the lander maker, not SCALPSS; FO's pages do not tie it to this mission. Grade: none, as in the study's earlier traceback.
"As for the earlier SCALPSS units."
— earlier finding of this study (not a public source)"Three-Dimensional Plume-Surface Interaction and Crater Formation Dynamic Measurements in Reduced Gravity Environments"
— TechPort project 106726, title (FO; lead Auburn University)"Deployment Test for ExoCam Module Lunar Lander Descent Imaging"
— TechPort project 106700, title (FO; lead Zandef Deksit)"Blue Origin's Landing Lidar System (FO 158500). FO's pages do not link it to a CLPS flight."
— earlier finding of this study (not a public source)
Who built it¶
"PIs: Robert Maddock and Joseph Atkinson, LaRC"
— CT-3 Science - NASA CLPS"The Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS) investigation, developed at NASA's Langley Research Center"
— Moon Base Phases - NASA, Blue Moon Mark 1 section"Principal Investigators: Michelle Munk (retired) and Wesley Chambers"
— NTRS 20260000603, page 2 (SCALPSS payload overview, 27 Jan 2026)"Project Manager: Robert Maddock"
— NTRS 20260000603, page 2
Moon Base need¶
"One lander type at one site; both gaps ask for"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: Architecture data gaps: all 25, Phase 1 table, SCALPSS on Blue Moon MK1"The one source-made link is that DN-017 L's own row names SCALPSS"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: Architecture data gaps: all 25"surface at different sites and under different plume conditions (i.e. lander types). During"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: DN-017 L: In situ measurement of particle velocity during lunar plume surface interaction (PSI) phenomena, Description"providing data at much larger lander thrust level (close to HLS-scale)"
— NTRS 20240005561, page 9, Summary (14 May 2024)"demonstrate capabilities that reduce risk for future crewed Artemis landing missions in 2028"
— NASA Provides Update on Moon Base Rovers, Landers, Missions - NASA, 26 May 2026"| DN-017 L | Landing; small cargo return |"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: Moon Base technology and knowledge challenges"Phase 1 "Now through 2028""
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: Moon Base phases
Open questions¶
- What the $12.5 million change order to CT-3 (P00002) bought, and whether it added the LRA: not in public sources.
- Is SCALPSS 1.x integrated on Endurance, and was it part of the lander's environmental tests at NASA Johnson? The team planned integration for August 2025; the outcome is not in public sources.
- Why the unit went from six cameras (May 2024 plan) to four cameras with one lens type: not in public sources.
- What thrust the BE-7 engine gives at landing: NASA's filing redacts it (SpaceNews gives Blue Origin's figure of up to 10,000 lbf).
- What SCALPSS 1.x costs: not in public sources.
- A May 2026 change order to CS-7, Blue Origin's VIPER task order on the second MK1 lander, added 'SCALPSS payload requirements' ($5.1 million; see bmp2-viper). Which SCALPSS version would fly there, and does it depend on this unit's results? Not in public sources; NASA's pages don't list it.