Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander captures a photo of Earth. Getty Images
A U.S. company has successfully landed its spacecraft on the moon, marking only the second time a private mission has achieved this milestone. Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 made history with its upright landing, unlike the first private mission in February 2024, which toppled over on landing. This makes Blue Ghost the first private spacecraft to land on the moon in an upright position.
The spacecraft touched down at 8:34 am GMT near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in the Mare Crisium region on the moon’s northeastern near side. The moment of success was met with cheers from the mission control team in Austin, Texas. Firefly Aerospace’s CEO, Jason Kim, confirmed the spacecraft’s stability, saying it was “stable and upright.”
This success stood in sharp contrast to the first private lunar landing by Texas-based Intuitive Machines. Their mission in February 2024 was the first U.S. moon landing since the Apollo 17 mission of 1972. However, the Intuitive Machines’ lander toppled over after touching down, which reduced the significance of their achievement.
Blue Ghost’s program manager, Ray Allensworth, praised the precision of the landing, explaining that it occurred within 100 meters of the target. "We did two hazard avoidance maneuvers on the way down, which shows our software worked exactly as needed," she shared with reporters.
The first image sent back by Blue Ghost showed the rugged, pockmarked terrain of the moon. The spacecraft had to navigate this terrain autonomously during its final descent. The spacecraft slowed down from thousands of miles per hour to just two mph before landing.
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost spacecraft creates a shadow on the moon. REUTERS
The mission is part of a $2.6 billion NASA partnership designed to reduce costs and support the Artemis program, which aims to send astronauts back to the moon. The Blue Ghost spacecraft launched on January 15 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Along the way, it captured stunning images of Earth and the moon as it traveled over 2.8 million miles.
Blue Ghost is equipped with 10 scientific instruments, including a lunar soil analyzer, a radiation-tolerant computer, and an experiment testing the possibility of using global satellite navigation systems for moon navigation.
The spacecraft is also set to capture high-definition images of a total eclipse on March 14, when Earth will block the sun from the moon’s horizon. On March 16, it will capture a lunar sunset, providing valuable data about how dust moves on the moon’s surface, a phenomenon first noted by Apollo astronaut Eugene Cernan.
Next up, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 will be followed by Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission on March 6. The company’s Athena lander is set to land on the moon, building on its previous mission in February 2024. During that mission, the lander descended too quickly, causing it to crash and end operations early.
Landing on the moon is a difficult task due to the lack of atmosphere, which makes parachutes ineffective. Spacecraft must rely on controlled thruster burns to slow their descent and avoid hazardous terrain.
