Cedar Park, Texas – 2 March 2025 – Firefly Aerospace has made history as the first commercial company to successfully land on the Moon. The company’s Blue Ghost lunar lander softly touched down in Mare Crisium, carrying 10 NASA payloads as part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
Dubbed Ghost Riders in the Sky, the mission sets a new benchmark in cislunar exploration. The lander achieved a precise landing within its designated 100-metre target near Mons Latreille at 02:34 CST, with inertial readings confirming an upright and stable configuration.
“Firefly is literally and figuratively over the Moon,” said Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. “Our Blue Ghost lunar lander now has a permanent home on the lunar surface, carrying 10 NASA payloads and a plaque with every Firefly employee’s name. This bold, unstoppable team has proven we’re well equipped to deliver reliable, affordable access to the Moon, and we won’t stop there.”
Science and Exploration on the Lunar Surface
Following the successful touchdown, Firefly’s Mission Operations Centre in Cedar Park, Texas, established communication with the lander. Blue Ghost has now begun surface operations, which will continue for 14 days – the equivalent of a full lunar day.
The mission includes subsurface drilling, sample collection, X-ray imaging, and dust mitigation experiments. A highlight of the mission will be the capture of high-definition imagery of a total eclipse on 14 March, when Earth blocks the Sun from the Moon’s horizon. Two days later, the lander will capture the lunar sunset, offering insights into the phenomenon of levitating lunar dust.
“With the hardest part behind us, Firefly looks forward to completing more than 14 days of surface operations, again raising the bar for commercial cislunar capabilities,” said Shea Ferring, Chief Technology Officer at Firefly Aerospace. “Just through transit to the Moon, Firefly’s mission has already delivered the most science data to date for the NASA CLPS initiative.”
Expanding Cislunar Exploration
Blue Ghost’s journey to the Moon spanned 45 days, covering more than 2.8 million miles while downlinking over 27GB of data. It facilitated groundbreaking science, including:
- Global Navigation Satellite System (LuGRE) – Tracking signals at record-breaking distances
- RadPC Payload – Radiation-tolerant computing through the Van Allen Belts
- LMS Payload – Measuring lunar magnetic field variations
Firefly Aerospace has pledged annual lunar missions to pave the way for a sustained human presence on the Moon and beyond. Regular updates on Blue Ghost Mission 1 will be shared via the Firefly website and NASA’s Artemis blog.
SOURCE AND IMAGE©: FIREFLY SPACE
