Carrying a suite of NASA science and technology, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 successfully landed at 3:34 a.m. EST on Sunday near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium, a more than 300-mile-wide basin located in the northeast quadrant of the Moon’s near side.

The Blue Ghost lander is in an upright and stable configuration, and the successful Moon delivery is part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemiscampaign. This is the first CLPS delivery for Firefly, and their first Moon landing.  

The 10 NASA science and technology instruments aboard the lander will operate on the lunar surface for approximately one lunar day, or about 14 Earth days.

“This incredible achievement demonstrates how NASA and American companies are leading the way in space exploration for the benefit of all,” said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro. “We have already learned many lessons – and the technological and science demonstrations onboard Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 will improve our ability to not only discover more science, but to ensure the safety of our spacecraft instruments for future human exploration – both in the short term and long term.”

Since launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 15, Blue Ghost traveled more than 2.8 million miles, downlinked more than 27 GB of data, and supported several science operations. This included signal tracking from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) at a record-breaking distance of 246,000 miles with the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment payload – showing NASA can use the same positioning systems on Earth when at the Moon. Science conducted during the journey also included radiation tolerant computing through the Van Allen Belts with the Radiation-Tolerant Computer System payload and measurements of magnetic field changes in space with the Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder payload.

“The science and technology we send to the Moon now helps prepare the way for future NASA exploration and long-term human presence to inspire the world for generations to come,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We’re sending these payloads by working with American companies – which supports a growing lunar economy.”

During surface operations, the NASA instruments will test and demonstrate lunar subsurface drilling technology, regolith sample collection capabilities, global navigation satellite system abilities, radiation tolerant computing, and lunar dust mitigation methods. The data captured will benefit humanity by providing insights into how space weather and other cosmic forces impact Earth.  

Before payload operations conclude, teams will aim to capture imagery of the lunar sunset and how lunar dust reacts to solar influences during lunar dusk conditions, a phenomenon first documented by former NASA astronaut Eugene Cernan on Apollo 17. Following the lunar sunset, the lander will operate for several hours into the lunar night.

“On behalf of our entire team, I want to thank NASA for entrusting Firefly as their lunar delivery provider,” said Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. “Blue Ghost’s successful Moon landing has laid the groundwork for the future of commercial exploration across cislunar space. We’re now looking forward to more than 14 days of surface operations to unlock even more science data that will have a substantial impact on future missions to the Moon and Mars.”

To date, five vendors have been awarded 11 lunar deliveries under CLPS and are sending more than 50 instruments to various locations on the Moon, including the lunar South Pole. Existing CLPS contracts are indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts with a cumulative maximum contract value of $2.6 billion through 2028. 

Quelle: NASA

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A privately built spacecraft has successfully landed on the moon

A privately built spacecraft has successfully landed on the moon, a feat that only one other company has accomplished in spaceflight history.

The robotic lander, dubbed Blue Ghost, has been in orbit around the moon for roughly two weeks, preparing for its daring descent. Texas-based company Firefly Aerospace developed the spacecraft.

 

The spacecraft touched down at about 3:36 a.m. ET, with the control room erupting into cheers along with a crowd gathered for the landing event outside the Firefly headquarters in Austin, Texas.Blue Ghost has become the second privately built vehicle to land on the moon successfully. In February 2024, another Texas-based company, Intuitive Machines, made history when its Odysseus lander pulled off a nail-biting touchdown near the moon’s south pole.

 Firefly Aerospace’s landing is the first in a flurry of robotic missions to the moon in 2025. Earlier this week, Intuitive Machines launched its second lander into space, with a targeted moon landing on or around March 6. And a lander and tiny rover developed by Japanese company ispace launched to the moon on the same rocket as Blue Ghost, but are taking a longer, less energy-intensive path and are expected to arrive in late May or early June.Blue Ghost aims to touch down in a 350-mile-wide basin on the near side of the moon (the side that always faces Earth). The region is thought to be the site of an ancient asteroid impact, according to NASA.

Earlier this week, the lander beamed back footage of the pockmarked, crater-laden far side of the moon as it orbited roughly 62 miles above the surface.

Firefly's Blue Ghost lander captured footage of the far side of the moon moon on Feb. 24. The footage, sped up 10 times, was captured about 100 km above the lunar surface.Firefly Aerospace

Blue Ghost began its hourlong descent to the moon a little after 2 a.m. ET on Sunday. NASA broadcasted a livestream beginning at 2:20 a.m. ET on NASA TV.The spacecraft is carrying 10 NASA science instruments, including one that will probe the interior of the moon to depths of up to 700 miles. Cameras will snap X-ray images looking back at Earth, studying how space weather interacts with Earth’s magnetic field. A separate camera took detailed photos of the lander as it descended to the lunar surface, which will aid future missions to the moon.

Instruments aboard the lander will also analyze samples of lunar soil, study how much lunar dust sticks to different materials, and use lasers to measure the precise distance between Earth and the moon.

Blue Ghost is expected to spend about two weeks gathering data on the lunar surface.

While in lunar orbit, Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander captured imagery of the moon’s south pole.Firefly Aerospace

The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, which was set up as a public-private partnership between the agency and more than a dozen U.S. companies to deliver NASA science experiments, technology and other cargo to the moon. It's a component of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to eventually return humans to the moon.The agency awarded Firefly Aerospace around $101.5 million to carry out the Blue Ghost mission.

NASA has said the science experiments and technology demonstrations on these missions will help scientists better understand the moon’s south polar region, where future crewed missions are expected to land.

Quelle: NBC News