Firefly Aerospace, the second U.S. private company, successfully landed its Blue Ghost on the Moon, making history

On March 5, 2025, Texas-based Firefly Aerospace made history by successfully landing its Blue Ghost lander on the Moon. This marked the second American private company to achieve a lunar landing and the first commercial lander to touch down upright and intact without any mishaps. Dubbed “Blue Ghost Mission 1,” this mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, aimed at expanding commercial presence on the Moon and paving the way for future human missions.

Launch

Blue Ghost launched on January 15, 2025, aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It orbited Earth three times before embarking on a roughly 2.8-million-mile (4.5 million kilometer) journey—far exceeding the Moon’s average distance from Earth (238,000 miles).

After 46 days of travel, it landed on March 2, 2025, at 3:34 AM EST (8:34 AM GMT) in Mare Crisium, an ancient volcanic basin on the Moon. The landing was so precise that experts called it “picture-perfect.”

Blue Ghost

Named after a rare firefly species, Blue Ghost is a compact, four-legged lander standing about 2 meters (6.6 feet) tall. Its three solar panels power it, enabling operations for 14 Earth days—one lunar day. The lander carries 10 NASA scientific and technological instruments, including:

• Lunar PlanetVac: Uses gas blasts to collect lunar dust.
• Electrodynamic Dust Shield: Employs electric fields to repel dust.
• Lunar GNSS Receiver: Leverages Earth’s GPS signals for lunar navigation.

These tools will gather data and test technologies critical for future Mars and Moon missions.

What Makes It Special?

Last February, Intuitive Machines landed its Odysseus on the Moon—the first commercial lunar landing—but it tipped over during descent. In contrast, Blue Ghost achieved a soft, stable landing, remaining fully upright. Firefly’s CTO, Shea Ferring, described it as a “clockwork” mission, setting a new benchmark for private space companies.

X Post

Firefly Aerospace shared their triumph on X.

Future Prospects

Blue Ghost will operate on the Moon for the next 14 days, observing a lunar eclipse on March 14 and studying dust behavior during lunar sunset on March 16. After that, the extreme cold of the lunar night (-173°C) will render it dormant. Firefly plans annual lunar missions, aiming to establish a sustained commercial presence on the Moon.

Global

This landing comes amid a lunar exploration race. Japan’s ispace and Intuitive Machines’ next attempt (scheduled for March 6, 2025) are part of this competition. NASA’s Artemis program, targeting human lunar missions by 2027, relies on successes like Blue Ghost to lay the groundwork.