Eduardo Kac
Adsum
An Artwork for the Moon
Launch date: January 15, 2025 (with a six-day launch window)
Watch it live here.
Eduardo Kac’s Adsum will fly to the Moon aboard Firefly's Blue Ghost lander. Credit: rendering of Blue Ghost on the Moon by Firefly Aerospace.
Eduardo Kac holding Adsum, which will fly to the Moon aboard Firefly's Blue Ghost lander, integrated into LifeShip's miniature pyramidal payload (see below). To spin the cube, click here.
Eduardo Kac’s Adsum will fly to the Moon aboard Firefly's Blue Ghost lander, integrated into LifeShip's miniature pyramidal payload. Credit: Firefly Aerospace.
Eduardo Kac’s Adsum just before integration into the pyramidal payload. Adsum measures 0.4 x 04 x 0.4 in (1x1x1 cm) and weighs 0.08 ounces (2.5 grams) on Earth; it weighs 0.014 ounces (0.41 grams) on the Moon. Photo: Ben Haldeman/LifeShip.
Eduardo Kac’s Adsum being integrated into the pyramidal payload.The image shows the inverted pyramid being filled with synthetic polymer resin. Photo: Ben Haldeman/LifeShip.
Eduardo Kac’s Adsum being integrated into the pyramidal payload, which also includes plant seeds from 100 species (seen around Kac's Adsum).The image shows the inverted pyramid being further filled with synthetic polymer resin, which bonded to the inside walls of the metal pyramid, providing stability for its flight to the Moon and protection from the harsh environment of space. Photo: Ben Haldeman/LifeShip.
The bottom of the LifeShip pyramidal paylod, filled to the brim with synthetic polymer resin. At the very bottom we see a NanoFiche disk with LifeShip's logo in the center. Eduardo Kac’s Adsum is inside. Photo: Ben Haldeman/LifeShip.
Eduardo Kac’s Adsum is inside the finished pyramidal payload, shown here next to a US quarter dollar coin for scale. Photo: Ben Haldeman/LifeShip.
Illustration showing Blue Ghost’s selected landing zone, near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium, which is always visible from Earth.
This picture of Mare Crisium was created using images captured by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Mare Crisium, a more than 300-mile-wide (500-km-wide) basin, is located in the northeast quadrant of the lunar near side. Credit: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State University.
Photograph taken in August 2024, showing the Blue Ghost lander completely integrated at Firefly in Cedar Park, Texas. The red arrow indicates the position of LifeShip's pyramidal payload with Eduardo Kac's Adsum (behind the solar panel, mounted to the bottom deck). Credit: Firefly Aerospace.
Illustration showing the position of LifeShip's pyramidal payload with Eduardo Kac's Adsum.
Photograph showing the position of LifeShip's pyramidal payload with Eduardo Kac's Adsum, as indicated by the red arrow. Partially obscured by cables and other materials, the brown pyramid can be glimpsed at the tip of the red arrow. For a closeup photo, please see the third image from the top of this page.
A NOTE ABOUT THE LOCATION OF ADSUM IN THE SPACECRAFT
The Blue Ghost lander offers four options for payload integration: Above Deck, Mid-Deck, Interior, Below Deck. In the interior, it’s possible to mount payloads at the top or the bottom. The pyramid containing Adsum is attached to the bottom interior deck, right above the LISTER payload. The pyramid's exact location is indicated by the red arrow above. LISTER is located under the spacecraft (below deck). All decks are made of carbon fiber composites, which have exceptional strength-to-weight ratio: they are stronger and lighter than steel. The pyramid containing Adsum is epoxied to the bottom interior deck. Epoxy resins and composites are used extensively in space exploration due to their excellent mechanical and thermal properties in the harsh space environment. The pyramid itself provides strength and stiffness, while the resin interior gives stability and holds the artwork in place (i.e., Adsum is firmly held in the middle of the pyramidal volume). The entire spacecraft is further protected by multilayered insulation, as can be seen in the picture below.
This photograph shows the Blue Ghost lunar lander fully assembled at Firefly in Cedar Park, Texas. The photo was taken on November 24, 2024, after the lander returned from JPL. Blue Ghost Mission 1, Firefly Aerospace's lunar lander, arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Monday, December 16, 2024. The spacecraft was transported to the launch site for integration with the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will carry it to space. Credit: Firefly Aerospace.
Firefly's Blue Ghost lander will be launched on a SpaceX's Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket (above) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida. The launch will take place NET January 15, 2025 — with a six-day launch window. Blue Ghost will spend approximately a month in Earth orbit and two weeks in lunar orbit before attempting to land. It is expected to land 45 days after liftoff (i.e., by early March 2025).
For schedule updates, see RocketLaunch.org.