The American Blue Ghost spacecraft, created by Firefly Aerospace in partnership with NASA, has successfully landed on the Moon and has already sent back its first image. This is only the second time in history that a commercial lander has accomplished such a mission.
This was reported by Bloomberg ,and UNN .
Firefly's Blue Ghost lander, which launched on January 15, successfully touched down on the lunar surface at 3:34 a.m. New York time. The vehicle carries 10 scientific instruments from NASA, including a drill that will penetrate the lunar soil to study its temperature.
“We're on the moon,” said the Firefly mission operator after landing.
Approximately 30 minutes after landing, Firefly received the first image from the Blue Ghost camera, which showed the lunar surface next to the vehicle.
An important breakthrough for Firefly Aerospace This success was an important achievement for Firefly, a Texas-based company that specializes in the development of rockets and spacecraft.
This is the second successful mission of a commercial lunar lander to the Moon after Intuitive Machines landed in 2024, but its module flipped over and the mission was aborted. Blue Ghost landed exactly as planned.
The spacecraft has landed on the lunar plain Mare Crisium, and if all goes well, its mission will last about two weeks - as long as one lunar day.
They made it look like it was easy
At the same time, he added that it is not easy at all.
Part of NASA's grand plan The Firefly mission is partially funded by NASA as part of the agency's efforts to return humans to the moon for the first time since 1972. NASA is supporting private development of robotic landers, including Firefly's, to deliver experiments and conduct research at the lunar south pole, where astronauts are planned to land in the future.
I can imagine that we will launch and land modules on the Moon every year, and then gradually start creating an ecosystem there
Blue Ghost is one of three landers to land on the Moon in the next two months. On March 6, Intuitive Machines will attempt to land its second vehicle, and in April, the Japanese company Ispace will do so after its first vehicle crashed in 2023.
NASA's program to fund commercial lunar landers has had mixed results. For example, a NASA-funded module by Astrobotic Technology Inc. failed to land due to a fuel leak. Other companies either went bankrupt or refused to cooperate due to high costs and technical problems.
Recall
Intuitive Machines' lunar lander has successfully separated from SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and started its journey to the moon.