Firefly Aerospace’s privately-built Blue Ghost lunar lander successfully touched down on the moon on Sunday, carrying a suite of NASA experiments, including a drill, vacuum, and other scientific instruments. The mission marks another step in the commercial race to establish a presence on the moon ahead of future astronaut missions.
The lander autonomously descended onto the slopes of an ancient volcanic dome located in the northeastern region of the moon’s near side.
The confirmation of the successful landing was received by Mission Control at Firefly’s headquarters near Austin, Texas, after monitoring the 225,000-mile journey (360,000 kilometers).
“You all stuck the landing. We’re on the moon,” declared Will Coogan, Firefly’s chief engineer for the lander, celebrating the milestone achievement for the company and for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
The success highlights the growing role of private industry in lunar exploration, with Firefly Aerospace joining a select group of companies enabling scientific research and future lunar infrastructure.
An upright and stable landing makes Firefly – a startup founded a decade ago – the first private outfit to put a spacecraft on the moon without crashing or falling over. Even countries have faltered, with only five claiming success: Russia, the US, China, India and Japan.
A half hour after landing, Blue Ghost started to send back pictures from the surface, the first one a selfie somewhat obscured by the sun's glare. The second shot included the home planet, a blue dot glimmering in the blackness of space.
Two other companies’ landers are hot on Blue Ghost’s heels, with the next one expected to join it on the moon later this week.
Blue Ghost – named after a rare US species of fireflies – had its size and shape going for it. The squat, four-legged lander stands 6-foot-6 (2 meters) tall and 11 feet (3.5 meters) wide, providing extra stability, according to the company.
10 experiments for NASA
Launched in mid-January from Florida, the lander carried 10 experiments to the moon for NASA. The space agency paid $101 million for the delivery, plus $44 million for the science and tech on board.