Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS); version not stated by NASA¶

IM-6 · manifested · NASA payload

Stereo cameras under the lander that image how the engine plume erodes the regolith as the lander descends; stereo photogrammetry turns the images into 3D maps for plume-erosion models. NASA describes 'an array of four cameras'. NASA is flying SCALPSS on all four late-2028 landings to collect data from several engine sizes, propellants and sites.

PI: Wesley Chambers (NASA Marshall), per the team's January 2026 slides; project manager Robert Maddock (NASA Langley)
Built by: NASA Langley Research Center (lead), with NASA Marshall (principal investigator), as for the other SCALPSS units. NASA's June 2026 release names no lead for this unit; the Langley team's 2026 poster describes its work on the Intuitive Machines, Voyager and Firefly landers. (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: the June 2026 release names no data gap. It matches SCALPSS on the four late-2028 landings to DN-017 L and DN-018 L, and finds the fit closer than a single flight, because landings on three companies' landers answer the gaps' call for different sites and lander types, if the sites differ. DN-017 L's own row names SCALPSS for its Blue Ghost flight. NASA's Moon Base program ordered these landings; a late-2028 landing falls in Phase 1 ('Now through 2028'), the study's reading.)
Route onto CLPS	STMD; NASA's Moon Base Program chose the same three 'flight-proven' NASA payloads (SCALPSS, LRA, LETS) for each of four late-2028 landings, awarded on 30 June 2026 to Astrobotic (two), Firefly and Intuitive Machines ($148.3 million for IM-6). Voyager names the procurement CS-8, which NASA's Ignition page describes as one solicitation with several task orders; that IM-6 is a CS-8 order is the study's reading. NASA's naming makes a CS order a science delivery led by SMD. The payloads were named in the awards, not chosen by a payload call. SCALPSS is funded by STMD's Game Changing Development program, so the route is STMD, as for the other SCALPSS units.; 2026-06-30
Timeline	first funding late 2018 (SCALPSS project formed at Langley; SMD NPLP from FY2019); first flight test 2024-02-15 (SCALPSS 1.0 on IM-1); selected 2026-06-30 (named in the IM-6 award); launch no earlier than Q4 2028 (team poster); Intuitive Machines: lander to the Moon no later than 2028; landing late 2028 (NASA, target)
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 on the same family of lander as IM-6 (Nova-C). They survived launch, transit and landing, but did not power on in time for descent because of the lander's bad altitude data; three cameras later returned surface images. No plume data.

"During descent, the payload was not powered on as expected due to erroneous altitude data on the lander"
— NTRS 20240005561, page 4

"Although unable to collect PSI data, the SCALPSS 1.0 payload was able to verify that the hardware could successfully operate in the lunar environment."
— NTRS 20240005561, page 9

earlier lunar mission: Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1, SCALPSS 1.1, 2025-01-15 (launch); landed 2025-03-02. Six cameras; worked in transit, in lunar orbit, in descent and on the surface, and met its full measurement objectives. This is the flight behind NASA's word 'flight-proven'.

"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

Heritage hardware¶

design heritage (SCALPSS 1.0 and 1.1): Same team and method. The Langley team now designs each unit with a repeatable process: camera placement and pointing are optimized on the lander maker's CAD model, the hardware is ground tested (thermal vacuum, vibration) and delivered, and the cameras are calibrated on the lander. Earlier units reused Mars 2020 EDLCam electronics and commercial cameras. Which hardware this unit uses is not stated (four cameras in NASA's release; a laser order names SCALPSS 2.0 for CS-8).

"Assemble final components and deliver to vendors."
— NTRS 20260007363, poster, workflow step 7

"Heritage hardware from Mars 2020 EDLCam (NASA JPL)"
— NTRS 20260000603, page 11

Funding before the lunar flight¶

STMD Game Changing Development: the SCALPSS projects (TechPort 116401 for 1.x, from 2020; TechPort 184628 'SCALPSS 2', 2025-2030). No amounts public, and no split by unit. (STMD GCD; from FY2021): amount not in public sources

"The SCALPSS 2.0 payload will utilize new electronics to improve data management and higher resolution cameras for improved science data."
— TechPort project 184628, description; start 2025-05-01, end 2030-06-30

NASA purchase order to RPMC Lasers for Matchbox lasers 'for SCALPSS 2.0 flight projects on CS-8 payloads' (80NSSC26P1184, signed 3 Aug 2026). Linked by the description. If IM-6 is a CS-8 order (the study's reading), this order covers lasers for its SCALPSS and the other CS-8 units; the split is not stated. It also suggests the CS-8 units are SCALPSS 2.0 with laser illumination, while NASA's release describes four cameras (see open questions). (NASA purchase order (NSSC); 2026): $124,920

"MATCHBOX LASERS FROM RPMC FOR SCALPSS 2.0 FLIGHT PROJECTS ON CS-8 PAYLOADS"
— USAspending.gov, award 80NSSC26P1184, description; obligated 124920.0, signed 2026-08-03

NASA purchase order to Holoor for custom diffractive optical elements (laser-grid optics) 'for the SCALPSS 2.0 flight payloads' (80NSSC26P1729, signed 25 Sep 2026), 'in support of Ignition/Moonbase'. Covers several units; the split is not stated. Other SCALPSS parts orders of 2025-2026 are listed under im5-scalpss. (NASA purchase order (NSSC); 2026): $91,540

"CUSTOM DIFFRACTIVE OPTICAL ELEMENTS (DOES) FOR THE SCALPSS 2.0 FLIGHT PAYLOADS"
— USAspending.gov, award 80NSSC26P1729, description; obligated 91540.0

The base design: SMD's NASA-Provided Lunar Payloads paid for SCALPSS 1.0 from FY2019. See im1-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¶

"NASA announced Tuesday the selection of three companies to land four new missions on the Moon in late 2028"
— NASA Awards More Moon Base Science, Previews New Opportunities - NASA

"Each delivery will carry three NASA payloads to the lunar surface:"
— NASA Awards More Moon Base Science, Previews New Opportunities - NASA

"These three payloads are flight-proven and their data is critical to supporting safe human exploration of the lunar surface."
— NASA Awards More Moon Base Science, Previews New Opportunities - NASA

"advanced stereo cameras to analyze surface-plume interactions (SCALPSS)"
— Intuitive Machines wins NASA CLPS contract up to $148.3M, Intuitive Machines release, 30 Jun 2026

"including the CS-8 competitive procurement under the existing Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) indefinite delivery/indefinite-quantity framework"
— Voyager Awarded $298M NASA Contract Under Completed Astrobotic Acquisition

"multiple task order awards anticipated from this solicitation with deliveries through Fiscal Year 2029"
— Ignition - NASA, CS-8 Task Order

"CS-3 is a CLPS Science delivery, the 3rd led by Science Mission Directorate (SMD)."
— Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Deliveries - NASA Science, note on CLPS naming

"CS-8 will deliver Moon Base payloads to the lunar surface."
— Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Deliveries - NASA Science

"The SCALPSS project is funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), Game Changing Development (GCD) Program."
— NTRS 20260007363, poster, Acknowledgements

On the Moon¶

Manifested on IM-6, a production Nova-C, for late 2028; the landing site is not in the sources. SCALPSS units are also manifested on Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 1, Blue Ghost Mission 4, IM-5 and the other three late-2028 landings; some may fly before IM-6.

"An array of four cameras that uses a technique called stereo photogrammetry"
— NASA Awards More Moon Base Science, Previews New Opportunities - NASA

FO's role¶

Grade: none. No FO flight of SCALPSS or its NASA team, as for IM-1, Blue Ghost Mission 1 and IM-5. FO flew plume-surface work by other teams (Auburn University's parabolic-flight photogrammetry of craters, TechPort 106726; UCF's Ejecta STORM and EjectaBLAST); no source ties them to SCALPSS, so that is the same topic only. Grade: none.

"No FO flight of SCALPSS or its Langley team."
— 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)

Who built it¶

"Principal Investigators: Michelle Munk (retired) and Wesley Chambers"
— NTRS 20260000603, page 2 (SCALPSS payload overview, 27 Jan 2026)

"The Firefly, Voyager, and Intuitive Machines landers will launch NET Q4-2028."
— NTRS 20260007363, poster, Conclusion (Rienstra, Tyrrell and Danehy, NASA Langley, Aug 2026)

"Optimization of the SCALPSS Scientific Payload to support Lunar Landing Missions, from CLPs to Artemis"
— NTRS 20260007363, title; authors from Langley Research Center

Moon Base need¶

"four landings on three companies' landers answer the gaps' call for"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: Architecture data gaps: all 25, June 2026 landings table, SCALPSS row

"Collecting data from a variety of engine sizes, propellants, and landing locations"
— NASA Awards More Moon Base Science, Previews New Opportunities - NASA

"By flying the same science instruments on multiple landers, we will better understand potential hazards during landing"
— NASA Awards More Moon Base Science, Previews New Opportunities - NASA, SMD's Joel Kearns

"Similar imaging suites could be used to provide comparative data for different lander configurations"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: DN-017 L: In situ measurement of particle velocity during lunar plume surface interaction (PSI) phenomena

"Phase 1 "Now through 2028""
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: Moon Base phases

Open questions¶

Which SCALPSS version flies on IM-6? NASA's release says four cameras; a NASA laser order names 'SCALPSS 2.0 flight projects on CS-8 payloads'. Is IM-6 a CS-8 order, and does its unit carry a laser grid?
What the four late-2028 SCALPSS units cost: not in public sources.
IM-6's landing site: not in public sources.
Will results from the SCALPSS units that fly earlier (Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 1, Blue Ghost Mission 4) change the IM-6 unit before delivery? Not in public sources.