NASA Begins Moon Mission Plume-Surface Interaction Tests

NASA’s Langley Research Center has initiated a plume-surface interaction test campaign inside a 60-foot spherical vacuum chamber to study the hazards of engine plumes blasting lunar dust, soil, and rocks during landings. The effort supports Artemis IV (returning humans to the Moon in 2028) and Moon Base development, providing data to improve predictive models and influence spacecraft hardware design. Testing lead Ashley Korzun noted that understanding regolith movement is pivotal for crew safety and mission success, as ejected material can hit the lander, payloads, science experiments, and future rovers.

The first round uses an ethane plume simulation system designed by NASA’s Stennis Space Center and built/operated by Purdue University. It generates up to ~100 pounds of thrust and heats without burning, and is being fired into a 6.5-foot-diameter, 1-foot-deep bin of simulated lunar regolith called Black Point-1, which mimics the jagged, cohesive properties of real lunar regolith. Tests last only about six seconds each, with instruments—including a version of the Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume Surface Studies that imaged Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission-1 landing in 2025—measuring crater formation, ejecta sheet angle and height, spatial distribution of solid ejecta, and particle speeds.

Later this year, a second round will test a 14-inch 3D-printed hybrid rocket motor developed at Utah State University and tested at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. It produces around 35 pounds of thrust, igniting solid propellant and gaseous oxygen to create a hot, powerful exhaust that more closely simulates a real rocket engine. The campaign involves multiple NASA centers, academic institutions, and commercial partners, and its results will feed directly into predictive models and landing hardware design.