After a long journey in space, an American company has successfully landed on the Moon, becoming the second private company to achieve this milestone.
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 was scheduled to land on Sunday at 3:34 AM Eastern Time (08:34 GMT). The spacecraft targeted a volcanic area in Mare Crisium, located in the northeastern part of the Moon, near Mons Latreille.
“The lander has performed very well,” said Blue Ghost program manager Ray Allensworth during a live webcast from mission control in Austin, Texas. “We have not encountered any major issues, which is amazing.”
“We are putting America first, making our country proud, and doing this for the American people,” said NASA’s acting administrator, Janet Petro.
Nicknamed “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” this mission comes a little over a year after the first private lunar landing. It is part of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to work with private companies to reduce costs and support future Moon missions, including sending astronauts back to the Moon.
The golden-colored lander, about the size of a hippopotamus, was launched on January 15 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. On its journey, it captured stunning images of Earth and the Moon. It also shared its ride with a Japanese company’s lander, which is expected to attempt a Moon landing in May.
The Blue Ghost lander carries ten instruments, including a lunar soil analyzer, a radiation-resistant computer, and an experiment to test whether the existing Global Satellite Navigation System can help with navigation on the Moon.
Designed to operate for a full lunar day (which equals 14 Earth days), Blue Ghost is expected to capture high-definition images of a total lunar eclipse on March 14, when Earth will block sunlight from reaching the Moon.
On March 16, it will record the Moon’s sunset, providing insight into the mysterious lunar horizon glow, first documented by Apollo astronaut Eugene Cernan. This will help scientists understand how solar radiation lifts dust particles above the Moon’s surface.
This mission marks another step forward in space exploration, bringing new discoveries about the Moon’s environment and helping pave the way for future human missions.
