Blue Ghost Became Second Private Spacecraft to Accomplish Moon Landing
The Texas-based Firefly Aerospace’s spacecraft will operate on the Moon's surface for 14 days
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost spacecraft successfully landed on the moon on March 3, 2025. The spacecraft landed in the Sea of Crises, near an ancient volcano in the northeastern part of the Moon’s visible side.
This is only the second private company to successfully land their vehicle on the Moon, without a crew, of course. Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus spacecraft achieved similar success in 2024.
“Our Blue Ghost lunar rover has found a permanent home on the surface of the Moon. It delivered ten NASA shipments there, as well as a plaque with the names of every Firefly employee,” said Firefly Aerospace CEO Jason Kim. “Our bold and dedicated team has proven that we are ready to provide reliable and convenient access to the Moon. And we’re not going to stop there.” Firefly’s annual lunar missions pave the way for a sustained human presence on the Moon, which will be key to exploring the rest of the solar system – for our country, for our partners, and for the world.”
Over the next 14 days, Blue Ghost will perform a number of operations on the Moon, including lunar subsurface drilling, sample collection, X-ray imaging, and lunar dust control experiments. High-resolution photography of the total eclipse of the moon is scheduled for March 14, and a lunar sunset observation is scheduled for March 16.
To date, only five countries have been able to successfully land on the Moon: Russia (at that time the USSR), the USA, China, India, and Japan.
