US Firm Firefly’s Blue Ghost Lunar Lander Successfully Lands On Moon, Sends First Image

US-based Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander has safely landed in the Mare Crisium region of the Moon, completing a tense powered descent.

Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on 15 January 2025, the mission culminated on Sunday (2 March), with a precise lunar landing.

"We have confirmation #BlueGhost stuck the landing! Firefly just became the first commercial company in history to achieve a fully successful Moon landing. This small step on the Moon represents a giant leap in commercial exploration. Congratulations to the entire Firefly team, our mission partners, and our @NASA customers for this incredible feat that paves the way for future missions to the Moon and Mars," Firefly Aerospace said in a post on X.

Shortly after touchdown, Blue Ghost transmitted the image of the lunar surface showing its legs on the Moon.

Before reaching the Moon, Blue Ghost spacecraft spent nearly a month in Earth’s orbit and then fine-tuned its trajectory over 16 days in lunar orbit.

Firefly, in an official statement, detailed the successful touchdown: "Carrying 10 NASA instruments, Blue Ghost completed a precision landing in Mare Crisium at 2:34 a.m. CST on March 2 and touched down within its 100-meter landing target next to a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille. Blue Ghost’s shock absorbing legs stabilized the lander as it touched down and inertial readings confirmed the lander is upright in a stable configuration".

"Following touchdown, Firefly is successfully commanding and communicating with the lander from its Mission Operations Center in Cedar Park, Texas," the company added.

Over the next 14 days, which is equivalent to a full lunar day, Blue Ghost will conduct surface operations, supporting NASA’s science and technology experiments.

These include lunar subsurface drilling, sample collection, X-ray imaging, and dust mitigation studies.

On 14 March, Firefly expects to capture high-definition imagery of a total eclipse when the Earth blocks the sun above the Moon’s horizon.

Two days later, on 16 March, Blue Ghost will then capture the lunar sunset, providing data on how lunar dust levitates due to solar influences and creates a lunar horizon glow first documented by Eugene Cernan on Apollo 17.

Following the sunset on Moon, Blue Ghost will operate several hours into the lunar night and continue to capture imagery that observes how levitating dust behavior changes after the sunset.

"As part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1, named Ghost Riders in the Sky, sets the tone for the future of exploration across cislunar space as the first commercial company in history to achieve a fully successful soft-landing on the Moon," the company said.

NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative is designed to facilitate rapid, frequent, and cost-effective access to the lunar surface by partnering with private companies. Through CLPS, NASA contracts commercial providers to deliver science experiments, technology demonstrations, and other payloads to the Moon.

Also Read: Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project Advances: 35,000 Track Slabs Cast Across Two Factories