Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost spacecraft has successfully landed on the Moon. The mission delivered scientific instruments to the surface for NASA, which are intended to study the lunar surface and technologies. This was reported by The New York Times and NASA.
The robotic vehicle became the second private spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon, and the first of three planned for 2025.
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost spacecraft landed on the moon early Sunday morning, March 2, at 3:34 a.m. Eastern Time. The module touched down gently on the lunar surface in the Sea of Craters region, one of the largest lava plains on the far side of the moon.
Firefly became the second private company to successfully land on the moon. The first attempt was by Intuitive Machines, which also landed on the moon last year but failed, limiting its exploration.
In contrast, the Blue Ghost launch was much more successful, partly because the company used data from previous missions to improve its software.
"We used data from other companies and agencies, which allowed us to avoid the mistakes of previous missions," — said Ray Allensworth, head of the Blue Ghost program.
Scientific cargo on board
The lander is carrying several payloads to the Moon, including for NASA as part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Service (CLPS) program. These include a drill to measure heat flux from deep within the Moon, an electrodynamic dust shield to clean surfaces, and an X-ray camera.
The Firefly lander also carried NASA's scientific and technical payload, which delivered several key instruments to the Moon for research and testing new technologies.
The Blue Ghost mission included testing lunar underground drilling technology, collecting regolith samples, using a global navigation satellite system, and testing radiation-hardened computing and lunar dust control methods.
Firefly will receive $101,5 million from NASA if all 10 payloads successfully reach the Moon.
The Blue Ghost mission was targeted to land shortly after dawn on the new lunar day, which explains the landing time of 3:34 a.m. Eastern Time. The module is solar-powered, and a post-dawn landing is optimal for its systems.
After launching from Earth 25 days ago, the spacecraft traveled to the moon in four days, reaching orbit on February 13. Despite a few minor technical glitches, the mission encountered no major problems. The mission control team closely monitored conditions on board, adjusting parameters for stable operation.
The Resilience module from Japanese company Ispace was launched alongside Blue Ghost. However, unlike Firefly, Ispace has chosen a longer route and plans to enter lunar orbit in May.
Both lunar modules — Blue Ghost and Resilience — were launched into orbit using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
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