02-03-2025
Austin-area-based Firefly Aerospace successfully lands on moon
CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — Hundreds of people, including employees of Firefly Aerospace, NASA and VIPs, cheered at the Blue Ghost One lunar landing party on Sunday morning. Mission accomplished!
After a 45-day journey, a lunar lander built in Central Texas became the first commercially built spacecraft to successfully land on the moon.
The lander made contact with the lunar surface around 2:30 am Sunday. Shortly after, the first photo taken by the lunar lander was sent by the space craft.
Blue Ghost One carries several experiments as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. These include a drill collecting lunar samples and a machine for preventing dust build up called an electrodynamic dust shield. These experiments will help pave the way for future space travel by NASA.
Additionally, the spacecraft will capture the first images of lunar sunset. The lunar sunset has only been seen once before — during the Apollo era.
The evening kicked off with a reading from astronaut and poet Dr. Sian Proctor. NASA's acting administrator, Janet Petro, was in attendance.
According to NASA, all of the experiments on board the spacecraft made it to the moon in healthy condition.
Previous attempts by private companies at a landing have reached the surface but faced difficulties.
Last year, Intuitive Machines sent their own lander to the moon. It toppled over shortly after landing and had to end service early.
Last week, that company launched another mission to the moon. That lander is scheduled to land on March 6.
Backstory: Historic lunar landing by Firefly Aerospace
Japanese company ispace launched a lunar lander alongside Blue Ghost One. That lander is taking a longer flight to the moon and won't reach the lunar surface until May.
Blue Ghost One will operate for one lunar day, approximately two weeks. After that period, temperatures on the moon will plummet and the lander will shut down.
Firefly Aerospace is based in Cedar Park. It has two additional lunar landers scheduled as part of CLPS. The next is scheduled to launch in 2026.
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