We’re going back to the moon: Everything to know about NASA’s latest lunar lander mission
Firefly's lunar lander, Blue Ghost, could become the second American craft to land on the moon in five decades following Intuitive Marchines' NASA-backed mission in 2024.
One week ago, a private lunar lander left the ground on a nearly 7-week journey to reach the surface of the moon.
The launch may not have had the headline-grabbing power of last year's historic lunar landing, which drew attention both for the fact that America had not landed a craft on the moon in decades and because a private U.S. company had never done so at all.
But last week's launch marked a crucial step to pave the way for NASA to send astronauts back to the moon in the years ahead under its Artemis campaign – its first lunar program since the Apollo missions came to an end in 1972.
The previous landing in February 2024, pulled off by Houston-based space company Intuitive Machines, helped set the stage for NASA to shell out big bucks to employ more commercial enterprises to build and send their own craft to the moon on the agency's behalf.
And that's just what a spacecraft built and operated by Texas-based Firefly Aerospace has set out to do on its 60-day mission to Earth's only natural satellite. Upon arrival, Firefly's spacecraft will deliver and help test a fleet of NASA's scientific instruments.
One week after its launch, here's everything to know about Firefly's lunar lander, Blue Ghost, which could become the second American craft to land on the moon in five decades.
When did the Blue Ghost lunar lander launch?
The lander, dubbed "Blue Ghost," hitched a ride on Jan. 15 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for a 1:11 a.m. EST launch from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Within about an hour, Blue Ghost separated from the Falcon 9 rocket on an elliptical Earth orbit before establishing communications with Firefly’s mission operations center in Cedar Park, Texas. By 5:30 a.m., mission operators were able to conduct health checks on the spacecraft.
Firefly shares updates first week into journey
One day after the spacecraft launched into orbit, it began beaming data back to Earth, including a video captured from its top deck of Earth eclipsing the sun, according to Firefly, which has been sharing mission updates.
By Saturday, Blue Ghost fired its engines for the first time – a capability to help position its trajectory.
The prep work for the maneuver began Friday when Blue Ghost’s fluid and propulsion systems were primed with a bi-propellant of fuel and oxidizer in the engines. Although not vital, the first engine burn was meant to calibrate Blue Ghost’s propulsion system ahead of a critical burn this week that will raise its apogee – the point when it is furthest from Earth in its orbit of the planet – as it prepares to enter the moon's orbit.
As of Monday, five days into the transit, Blue Ghost had traveled 22,000 miles, according to Firefly.
Firefly shares photos of lunar craft in orbit
It wasn't long into its spaceflight that Blue Ghost captured its first image from orbit.
The image, captured and shared on the same day of the launch, shows the top deck of the lander, along with its antenna and NASA's X-ray imager intended for use on the lunar surface.
A photo captured by SpaceX also provides a look at the lunar lander prior to separation from the Falcon 9 rocket as Earth hovers far below.
What is the Firefly lunar lander?
Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander stands more than 6 feet tall and nearly 12 feet wide. Powered by three solar panels, the spacecraft is designed to stick the landing when it makes it to the moon's surface with shock-absorbing feet, a low center of mass and a wide footprint, according to the company.
What is the Blue Ghost mission?
Blue Ghost is on its way to the moon to deploy a fleet of NASA's scientific instruments to study the moon's environment before humans return.
The $93 million mission, named Ghost Riders in the Sky, is one of multiple robotic lunar missions NASA hired Firefly to complete under the agency's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program or CLPS. The program allows NASA to pay private companies for missions it once would carry out itself as a way to cut costs.
NASA officials say the 10 instruments being transported to the moon under the Blue Ghost 1 mission constitute the largest delivery under the CLPS to date.
When will the Firefly spacecraft make it to the moon?
The Blue Ghost spacecraft will attempt a lunar landing on Sunday, March 2 after roughly 45 days orbiting both Earth and the moon itself.
The lengthy orbital period will enable mission operators to conduct regular health checks, calibrate the propulsion system for critical maneuvers and begin payload science operations, according to Firefly. During transit, instruments aboard the craft will monitor GPS to extend signals to the lunar surface and will begin testing the onboard computer's ability to withstand radiation while in the vacuum of space.
Where will the Blue Ghost vehicle land?
The uncrewed craft will then land near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium – a 300-mile-wide basin in the northeast quadrant of the moon's near side. It's believed that Mare Crisium was created by early volcanic eruptions and flooded with basaltic lava more than 3 billion years ago.
What will the lunar lander do on the moon's surface?
Firefly's team plans to operate the 10 NASA instruments for a complete lunar day, equivalent to about 14 Earth days.
The instruments the lander carries are for things like lunar subsurface drilling, sample collection, X-ray imaging and dust mitigation. The data NASA hopes to collect should also provide insights into how space weather and other cosmic forces affect Earth.
The Blue Ghost also plans to capture high-definition imagery of a lunar sunset, as well as a total eclipse just before the frigid lunar night as the Earth blocks the sun.
Stay updated on the mission
Firefly will provide regular mission updates on social media site X and on the Blue Ghost Mission 1 webpage.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for Paste BN. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com