On Sunday, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander successfully touched down on the Moon, marking a significant milestone in the commercial space race. Carrying a suite of NASA experiments, the lander descended autonomously from lunar orbit to a site near an ancient volcanic dome in a northeastern impact basin. The touchdown was confirmed by Mission Control in Texas, situated approximately 360,000 kilometres away.
This achievement makes Firefly the first private company to land a spacecraft on the Moon without mishap. Historically, only five entities—Russia, the US, China, India, and Japan—have succeeded in lunar landings. Following the landing, the Blue Ghost began transmitting images back to Earth, including a selfie and a stunning shot featuring Earth as a tiny blue dot against the blackness of space.
The Blue Ghost, launched from Florida in January, is part of NASA’s commercial lunar delivery program, aimed at establishing a sustainable lunar economy. It carried ten experiments for NASA, with the agency investing $101 million for delivery and an additional $44 million for onboard science and technology. These missions are seen as vital in preparing for future astronaut expeditions.
The lander’s design features a stable, squat structure standing 2 metres tall and 3.5 metres wide, which helped it navigate obstacles and safely land within 100 metres of its intended target in Mare Crisium. The experiments it is conducting include drilling to a depth of 3 metres for temperature readings and collecting lunar dust for analysis. The findings from these tests are expected to be available over a two-week operational period, coinciding with lunar daytime.
Moreover, the lunar surface provides a fertile ground for future commercial ventures. Intuitive Machines is poised to launch its own lander soon, aiming to land closer to the Moon’s south pole than previous attempts. Another company, ispace from Japan, is also working towards a lunar landing later this year, having faced setbacks with its first attempt.
NASA is keen to maintain a steady rhythm of lunar landers, aspiring to facilitate multiple missions annually despite acknowledging that some will not succeed. The success of Blue Ghost demonstrates the potential of private companies in expanding lunar research and science beyond the traditional scope of government-funded operations.
Firefly’s CEO remarked, “We got some moon dust on our boots,” indicating a joyful beginning to what may be a new era in lunar exploration. The importance of such missions lies not only in technological achievements but also in paving the way for sustainable exploration of the Moon by robots and potentially, astronauts in the coming years.