A robotic spacecraft called Blue Ghost, built by Firefly Aerospace in Texas, successfully landed on the Moon on March 2. This is a historic achievement for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services programme, which aims to send scientific instruments to the lunar surface.
The landing took place in the Mare Crisium region of the Moon and was carried out without any major issues or crashes. Blue Ghost touched down at 2:34 am Texas time, marking a significant milestone for space exploration.
This marks the first time a commercial spacecraft has landed on the Moon without incident. Previous attempts by other companies have failed due to technical issues. However, Blue Ghost seems to have pulled off the complex sequence of autonomous manoeuvres required to approach and land on the Moon.
The success of Blue Ghost is crucial for NASA’s programme, which began in 2018. The agency has contracted with aerospace companies to fly scientific instruments to the lunar surface. With this mission, NASA is one step closer to achieving its goals.
Blue Ghost will spend two weeks conducting science experiments provided by NASA. Its first images showed the probe sitting upright on the grey surface of the Moon, providing a glimpse into the successful landing.
The landing is also a win for Intuitive Machines, which launched its Odysseus spacecraft last year but experienced technical issues during the landing process. This achievement marks a significant step forward in space exploration and demonstrates the capabilities of commercial spacecraft.
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00670-7