A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched two private lunar landers into space as part of a commercial rideshare mission to the Moon. The landers, built by US company Firefly Aerospace and Japan’s ispace, will eventually separate from the rocket and conduct independent explorations.
Firefly’s Blue Ghost rover is expected to reach the Moon in about 45 days, where it will drill, collect samples, and take X-ray images of the Earth’s magnetic field. This mission aims to advance research for future human missions on the Moon and provide insights into space weather impacts.
Inspace’s Resilience lander, meanwhile, will take up to five months to reach the Moon’s surface, where it will deploy a rover for exploration and collect regolith samples. NASA is backing this endeavour, which would be its largest commercial delivery to the Moon so far.
This marks the latest in a growing number of commercial missions to the Moon, following Intuitive Machines’ successful lunar lander deployment last year. SpaceX’s Starship rocket is also set to conduct its seventh orbital flight test from Texas later today.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn8x5gm4k1xo