American private aerospace firm Firefly Aerospace successfully landed its Blue Ghost lunar lander on the moon, making it the first commercial company to complete a fully successful soft landing.
According to Firefly Aerospace, the lander, about the size of a compact car, carried 10 NASA experiments designed to study the moon’s surface and environment. The spacecraft touched down at 3:35 a.m. ET (0835 GMT) in Mare Crisium, an ancient volcanic basin on the moon’s Earth-facing side.
“Firefly is literally and figuratively over the Moon,” Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace said in a press release. “Our Blue Ghost lunar lander now has a permanent home on the lunar surface with 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.”
Stunning images of the Moon, captured by the private Blue Ghost lander’s S-band imagery system, were released by Firefly Aerospace, just hours following the lunar touchdown.
Blue Ghost’s shadow seen on the Moon’s surface! We’ll continue to share images and updates throughout our surface operations. #BGM1 pic.twitter.com/iP7fWOSths
— Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space) March 2, 2025
Would you look at that view! #BlueGhost captured its first image on the Moon that embodies everything this bold, unstoppable Firefly team has worked so hard for over the last 3+ years. And we’re just getting started! Find out what’s next for #BGM1 https://t.co/oEJhJu7KHx pic.twitter.com/NsdljgQOpu
— Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space) March 2, 2025
Blue Ghost will now begin its surface operations, supporting several NASA science and technology demonstrations over the next 14 days—equivalent to a full lunar day. These operations include lunar subsurface drilling, sample collection, X-ray imaging, and dust mitigation experiments.
The Moon is so close, we can taste it!
New footage from @Firefly_Space shows their lunar lander’s view from 60 miles (100 km) above the Moon. Blue Ghost will land at Mare Crisium, on the near side of the Moon, on March 2, no earlier than 3:34am ET (0834 UTC). pic.twitter.com/EBZyXHEerL
— NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) February 26, 2025
Firefly is expected to capture high-definition imagery of the total eclipse on March 14 and the lunar sunset on March 16.
Blue Ghost launched on January 15 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was one of two lunar landers on the mission, alongside another spacecraft, Resilience, which is scheduled to land on the moon in May or June.
