Firefly Aerospace has successfully landed its Blue Ghost module with NASA research equipment on the moon on its first attempt. The company said the module made a soft landing at 3:34 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) and is now in a vertical position.
While Blue Ghost is not the first commercial spacecraft to land on the Moon, it is the first to land safely. Last year, Intuitive Machines' Odysseus spacecraft capsized after a too-rapid descent that occurred ahead of schedule.
Blue Ghost and the NASA instruments it carries are expected to operate for about 14 Earth days, after which lunar night will begin. The module will take images on the eve of lunar night and a few hours after dark to record the behavior of levitating lunar dust. NASA will also test tools for drilling and collecting samples from the surface.
Blue Ghost was launched on January 15, 2025, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, and reached lunar orbit in about 30 days. The team reports that it has already transmitted over 27 GB of data from its journey to Earth.