Firefly Aerospace announced on October 21, 2026, that its Elytra spacecraft had completed a preliminary design review (PDR) for NASA’s MoonFall mission. Firefly said the review found that Elytra’s design met mission requirements. The next stated milestone is a critical design review (CDR), which comes before hardware production and assembly.
What Firefly says the design review covered
Firefly said the PDR covered Elytra’s structural, thermal, propulsion, avionics, trajectory, guidance and navigation, communications, and control systems. Participants also reviewed qualification and environmental test plans. Firefly described the outcome as the design meeting MoonFall’s mission requirements.
How Elytra fits into MoonFall
Elytra is planned to travel from Earth orbit to lunar orbit and deploy drones above the Moon’s south pole. The drones are intended to survey terrain, including permanently shadowed regions, and map potential safe landing sites and resources for future human missions. Firefly says they will use high-definition optical cameras and other instruments.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is building the drones and managing MoonFall for NASA. NASA is to source the launch vehicle. Firefly describes MoonFall as part of the first phase of NASA’s Moon Base initiative. For broader context, NeoTeo’s coverage of NASA’s phased lunar-base roadmap looks at the initiative’s wider direction.
JPL’s March 2026 mission overview described a plan involving four drones. It said each would operate for one lunar day, defined as 14 Earth days, and make several powered flights covering up to 50 kilometers in total per vehicle. These are planned mission parameters. JPL published the overview on March 26, after MoonFall was announced at NASA’s Ignition event on March 24.
Firefly’s next milestone and schedule target
Firefly says Elytra will proceed toward its CDR before hardware production and assembly. The company set late 2028 as the target for MoonFall to be ready for launch.
