Firefly Aerospaces Blue Ghost lunar lander makes history with moon landing

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander achieved a historic milestone by successfully landing on the Moon early Sunday morning, making Firefly the first commercial company to accomplish a fully successful Moon landing. The landing occurred at Mare Crisium, and the excitement was palpable among the team and NASA officials, who emphasized the mission's importance for advancing lunar exploration. The Blue Ghost carried 10 NASA payloads, which are set to conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations over the next two weeks. This mission took 45 days to reach the Moon, following a 16-day orbit before its autonomous touchdown. After completing their experiments, the lander and its payloads will face the Moon's extreme temperatures.

Firefly's Chief Engineer, Will Coogan, expressed optimism about future missions, indicating that "Ghost Riders in the Sky" is just the beginning of their lunar exploration efforts. The Blue Ghost is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), which aims to foster commercial partnerships for lunar exploration. This successful landing represents a significant step forward in the commercial space sector and could pave the way for future manned missions to the Moon and Mars.