Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander has achieved a significant milestone by successfully landing on the moon, marking a historic event for private lunar missions.
The lander touched down smoothly on Sunday, delivering a suite of scientific experiments for NASA.
The Blue Ghost, which descended autonomously from lunar orbit, landed on the slopes of an ancient volcanic dome in an impact basin on the moon’s northeastern edge. The confirmation of touchdown was received by the company’s Mission Control in Austin, Texas, making Firefly Aerospace the first private company to achieve a stable lunar landing without crashing.
This mission, part of NASA’s commercial lunar delivery program, aims to ignite a lunar economy driven by private businesses. The Blue Ghost, launched in mid-January, carried ten experiments, including a vacuum for moon dirt analysis, a drill to measure subsurface temperatures, and a device to eliminate lunar dust.
The lander’s onboard receiver also tracked signals from the U.S. GPS and European Galileo constellations, advancing future lunar navigation. This successful mission sets the stage for further private lunar missions, with other landers expected to follow in the coming weeks.
