NASA and Firefly Aerospace have announced a successful lunar landing after the private lunar lander Blue Ghost touched down on the moon’s surface. The spacecraft captured stunning images of a sunrise on the moon and is now operating 10 NASA instruments to test new technologies for future space exploration.
The mission, called Blue Ghost Mission 1 or “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” was Firefly Aerospace’s first lunar mission and marked the second successful private lunar landing after Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus craft landed in February 2024.
Blue Ghost landed in a large basin on the moon’s near side at 3:34 a.m. EST, NASA said in a statement. The spacecraft was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on January 15 and previously captured photos on its way to the moon.
Firefly Aerospace CEO Jason Kim hailed the success as “literally and figuratively over the Moon.” The mission aims to pave the way for a lasting lunar presence that will help unlock access to the rest of the solar system.
The Blue Ghost spacecraft is equipped with 10 NASA instruments, including subsurface drilling equipment and radiation tolerant computing. These instruments will operate on the moon’s surface for about 14 Earth days.
NASA Administrator Nicky Fox praised the success as helping prepare for future human presence in space. The agency is working with commercial companies like Firefly Aerospace to create a “lunar economy” that will support future exploration efforts.
Source: https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration