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Sample Acquisition, Morphology Filtering, and Probing of Lunar Regolith (SAMPLR)

Blue Ghost Mission 3 · manifested · NASA payload

A robotic arm on the lander, built from Mars Exploration Rover arm heritage, with a sieve-scoop, a penetrometer and cameras. It digs and sieves regolith to sort particles by size, pushes a probe into the soil to measure its strength and density, and lifts two of Heimdall's cameras to look at the regolith and the landscape. NASA calls it the first US robotic arm on the Moon in more than 50 years.

PI: Sean Dougherty (Maxar)
Built by: Maxar (Westminster, Colorado; the arm work is in Pasadena, California). USAspending now lists the contract holder as Lanteris Space LLC after a September 2026 novation; the sources read don't explain the change. Co-investigators from the Colorado School of Mines (penetrometer), NASA Goddard and Olis Robotics. (company)
Technology robotic arm with regolith sampling and geotechnical tools
Moon Base need FN-A-104 L, #0806, DN-008 L (The study's reading. NASA describes SAMPLR as a lunar surface proxy and a support technology for other payloads, but does not tie it to a Moon Base gap. A small arm that moves instruments and regolith bears on robotic manipulation of payloads (FN-A-104 L; the Phase 1 target is 10 kg of cargo) and on payload handling (#0806), at small scale. Its penetrometer measures regolith strength and density (DN-008 L), at a northern near-side site rather than the South Pole.)
Route onto CLPS LSITP; Lunar Surface Instrument and Technology Payloads (ROSES call NNH18ZDA001N): one of the 12 payloads NASA selected on 1 July 2019. NASA Marshall signed the development contract (80MSFC20C0026) on 10 January 2020. NASA first assigned SAMPLR to Masten Space Systems' XL-1 delivery to the South Pole (award of 8 April 2020, then planned for 2022). Masten filed for bankruptcy in July 2022 and that mission was cancelled (per Wikipedia). NASA then assigned SAMPLR to Firefly's CP-21 (18 December 2024): five and a half years from selection to a ride.; 2019-07-01
Timeline first funding 2020-01-10 (LSITP contract 80MSFC20C0026 signed); first flight test No flight of SAMPLR itself; its arm line flew on Spirit and Opportunity, its scoop line on InSight (dates not in the sources saved).; selected 2019-07-01; task order CP-21 to Firefly 2024-12-18; launch Not yet launched. Landing targeted for 2028.; landing not in public sources
On the Moon not yet flown
FO none

Flights before the Moon

  • other: Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity (Mars surface): the Instrument Deployment Device (IDD) arms Maxar built, not in public sources. The arm SAMPLR's is built from. NASA calls SAMPLR's arm a MER flight spare; the team calls it a second-generation IDD with updated motors. Flight dates are not in the sources saved.

"The robotic arm for SAMPLR is an evolution of the Instrument Deployment Device (IDD) robotic arms that Maxar built for NASA’s twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity."
— hou.usra.edu: 2564.pdf, LPSC 2020 abstract 2564, Robotic Arm

"The sampling technology will use a flight spare from the Mars Exploration Rover project."
— More NASA Science, Tech will Fly to Moon Aboard Future Firefly Flight - NASA

  • other: InSight Mars lander (Mars surface): Maxar's heritage scoop, not in public sources. The scoop design SAMPLR's sieve-scoop modifies (adding two sieves in the side walls). It was built for the cancelled 2001 Mars lander and later flew on InSight. Flight dates are not in the sources saved.

"The sieve-scoop is based on the Maxar heritage scoop built for the cancelled 2001 Mars lander and later flown on the InSight lander."
— hou.usra.edu: 2564.pdf, LPSC 2020 abstract 2564, Sieve-Scoop

Heritage hardware

  • spare flight hardware: NASA says the arm is a flight spare from the Mars Exploration Rover project. The team's 2020 abstract describes a next-generation IDD with updated motors, five degrees of freedom, configurable length.

"This second generation IDD will include updated motors"
— hou.usra.edu: 2564.pdf, LPSC 2020 abstract 2564, Robotic Arm

  • ground-tested tool (penetrometer): The penetrometer is based on the In Situ Experimental Probe developed at the Colorado School of Mines under NASA SSERVI's IMPACT team, tested in simulants and ice mixtures in the lab. The arm itself pushes the probe. No flight of the probe found.

"The penetrometer is based on the In Situ Experimental Probe (IEP) developed at the Colorado School of Mines as part of the NASA SSERVI IMPACT team"
— hou.usra.edu: 2564.pdf, LPSC 2020 abstract 2564, Penetrometer

Funding before the lunar flight

  • NASA LSITP contract 80MSFC20C0026 (NASA Marshall), signed 10 Jan 2020, running to 30 Apr 2029; recipient now listed as Lanteris Space LLC. Base and all options USD 10,186,962. Linked by its description, which names SAMPLR. (NASA SMD LSITP; 2020-2029): $8,085,469

"SAMPLR: SAMPLE ACQUISITION, MORPHOLOGY FILTERING, AND PROBING OF LUNAR REGOLITH"
— USAspending.gov, award 80MSFC20C0026, description; obligated 8085469.0; base and all options 10186962.0; outlays 7031065.62

How it got onto CLPS

"SAMPLR is another sample acquisition technology that will make use of a robotic arm that is a flight spare from the [Mars Exploration Rover]"
— NASA Selects 12 New Lunar Science, Technology Investigations - NASA, release of 1 Jul 2019

"SELECTED UNDER THE NASA RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES IN SPACE AND EARTH SCIENCES (ROSES) LUNAR SURFACE INSTRUMENT AND TECHNOLOGY PAYLOADS (LSITP) (AO) NNH18ZDA001N"
— USAspending.gov, award 80MSFC20C0026, description; signed 2020-01-10

"Sample Acquisition, Morphology Filtering, and Probing of Lunar Regolith (SAMPLR) is a robotic arm that will collect samples of lunar regolith"
— NASA Awards Contract to Deliver Science, Tech to Moon Ahead of Human Missions - NASA, release of 8 Apr 2020, Masten XL-1

"This led to the cancellation of Masten's CLPS mission."
— Wikipedia article "Commercial Lunar Payload Services", revision 1377878096 of 2026-10-01T18:18:11Z, revision 1377878096

"is a robotic arm that will collect samples of lunar regolith and use a robotic scoop to filter and isolate particles of different sizes"
— More NASA Science, Tech will Fly to Moon Aboard Future Firefly Flight - NASA, release of 18 Dec 2024

On the Moon

Planned: scoop, sieve and probe regolith, and raise and point Heimdall's regolith and panoramic imagers.

"Within CP-21, SAMPLR will use a sieve-scoop and penetrometer to collect regolith samples while supporting mounted Heimdall cameras"
— CLPS CP-21 Science - NASA Science

FO's role

Grade: none. No FO project, flight or report names SAMPLR, Maxar, its PI, Olis Robotics or the Colorado School of Mines penetrometer team; the study searched the 430 FO TechPort records, FO's reports and FO's pages. FO has flown other penetrometers (JPL's SPARTA, TechPort 106611 and 106730; UCF's Strata-2P) under other teams: topic only, not a link. The Colorado School of Mines appears once, as a supporting organization on an unrelated FO project (TechPort 106729). The study's earlier traceback grade (none found) stands.

"Filtering & Probing of Lunar Regolith (SAMPLR) robotic arm"
— earlier finding of this study (not a public source)

Who built it

"The principal investigator is Sean Dougherty of Maxar Technologies, Westminster, Colorado."
— More NASA Science, Tech will Fly to Moon Aboard Future Firefly Flight - NASA

"Coinvestigators represent Maxar, Colorado School of Mines, NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center, and Olis Robotics."
— hou.usra.edu: 2564.pdf, LPSC 2020 abstract 2564, SAMPLR Team

"SAMPLR: SAMPLE ACQUISITION, MORPHOLOGY FILTERING, AND PROBING OF LUNAR REGOLITH SELECTED UNDER THE NASA RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES IN SPACE AND EARTH SCIENCES (ROSES) LUNAR SURFACE INSTRUMENT AND TECHNOLOGY PAYLOADS (LSITP)"
— USAspending.gov, award 80MSFC20C0026, description; recipient LANTERIS SPACE LLC; place of performance Pasadena, CA; transaction P00034 'NOVATION AGREEMENT' 2026-09-24

Moon Base need

"SAMPLR is our lunar surface proxy. It will be the first US robotic arm on the Moon in more than 50 years."
— CLPS CP-21 Science - NASA Science

"Perform robotic manipulation of payloads, logistics, and/or equipment on the lunar surface."
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: Moon Base Phase 1 functional gaps, Autonomous systems and robotics, FN-A-104 L

"Demonstration of capabilities to unload and manipulate cargo (10kg) on the surface."
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: Moon Base Phase 1 functional gaps, Autonomous systems and robotics, capability targets

"These data will provide estimates of bulk relative density, cohesive behavior, and surface strength of the lunar regolith"
— hou.usra.edu: 2564.pdf, LPSC 2020 abstract 2564, Penetrometer

Open questions

  • Was SAMPLR's arm, its penetrometer or its sieve-scoop tested on a flight (parabolic, suborbital or lander test vehicle) before the Moon? Not in public sources.
  • Is the arm a refurbished MER flight spare (NASA's words) or a new second-generation IDD built from spare parts (the team's words)? The sources differ in emphasis.
  • Why is the contract now held by 'Lanteris Space LLC'? Not explained in the sources read.
  • Olis Robotics's part (arm control software) and any NASA funding for it: not found under that name in the SBIR data.