Firefly Aerospace has announced plans to launch a commercial lunar imaging service that could transform how governments and private entities access high-resolution images of the Moon. The new service, named Ocula, is being positioned as a potential supplement—or even successor—to NASA’s long-serving Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which has been operational since 2009.
Firefly's planned Ocula service would provide high-resolution imagery of the moon and objects in cislunar space. Credit: Firefly Aerospace
Unveiled on June 18, Ocula will deliver high-resolution imagery through instruments aboard Firefly’s Elytra spacecraft, using advanced ultraviolet and visible light telescopes developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. These telescopes, operating from lunar orbit at an altitude of just 50 kilometers, will be capable of capturing surface images with a resolution of 20 centimeters—more than twice the sharpness of LRO’s 50-centimeter-per-pixel capability.
“Ocula will be one of the first, if not the first, commercial lunar imaging service on the market,” said Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace, in a statement. “It will provide critical data that informs future human and robotic missions and supports national security with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.”
Firefly plans to debut Ocula aboard its Blue Ghost 2 mission, slated for launch in 2026. That mission will carry an Elytra spacecraft into lunar orbit. A second mission, Blue Ghost 3, scheduled for 2028, will also include an Ocula payload. The company has committed to offering imagery from these initial flights to government and commercial customers at “low cost”, though pricing details have not yet been disclosed.
In addition to high-resolution imaging, Ocula will support a variety of lunar and space-related activities. Its dual-wavelength sensors can aid in the detection of valuable minerals, such as ilmenite, which is associated with helium-3, a potential fuel for future fusion reactors. The system will also be capable of monitoring objects in cislunar space, contributing to space domain awareness and security efforts.
The announcement comes at a time when the future of lunar imaging is under active discussion within the U.S. space science community. Although NASA’s LRO remains operational and scientifically valuable, it was originally built for the now-defunct Constellation program and has been in orbit for over 15 years. A 2022 report from the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) called for urgent development of successor capabilities and urged NASA to pursue more flexible and diverse imaging strategies, including commercial services.
Firefly’s Ocula aligns with this recommendation, representing a shift toward data-as-a-service models in lunar exploration. In recent Congressional hearings, Firefly and other companies involved in NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program expressed interest in expanding their roles beyond lander missions to include long-term support services like imaging, communications, and data collection.
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