Two private lunar lander missions are set to launch this week aboard the same rocket, kicking off a busy year of moon missions. The Falcon 9 rocket will carry both landers to Earth orbit, where each will begin independent trajectories toward the moon.
The Ghost Riders in the Sky mission, launched by Firefly Aerospace, is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. The Resilience lander, from Japan-based company ispace, aims to land on the moon for a second time and has implemented hardware and software upgrades based on lessons learned from its previous attempt.
The Ghost Riders in the Sky mission will spend 25 days orbiting Earth before setting its trajectory toward the moon. If everything performs nominally, it will autonomously touch down in Mare Crisium in two weeks of lunar science. The Resilience lander, on the other hand, will fly a much slower trajectory to the moon and is expected to land four to five months after launch.
This week’s Falcon 9 launch is followed by another lunar lander mission from Intuitive Machines, which successfully landed its first Nova-C lander in February 2024. NASA’s Artemis program aims to land astronauts on the moon in 2027, with multiple private companies and government agencies participating in this effort.
SpaceX’s Starship rocket has won a contract to deliver astronauts to the lunar surface for the Artemis program, while Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander is also part of the HLS (Human Landing Services) program. With several missions planned for 2025 and beyond, it will be an exciting year for moon exploration.
As the private sector continues to play a significant role in advancing our understanding of the moon, these launches mark an important step forward for lunar science and exploration.
Source: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-will-launch-2-private-lunar-landers-this-week-kicking-off-busy-year-for-moon-missions