A moon lander from Firefly Aerospace was launched this morning carrying a variety of NASA science instruments and technology demonstrations. The Blue Ghost mission was launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:11 a.m. ET today, Wednesday January 15.
The aim is for the mission to perform a soft landing on the moon. If successful it will be just the second such landing ever by a private company, following the Intuitive Machines Odyssey landing last year. These two landings are part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which aims to have companies deliver NASA science to the moon ahead of planned human exploration there for the Artemis mission.
“This mission embodies the bold spirit of NASA’s Artemis campaign – a campaign driven by scientific exploration and discovery,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “Each flight we’re a part of is vital step in the larger blueprint to establish a responsible, sustained human presence at the moon, Mars, and beyond. Each scientific instrument and technology demonstration brings us closer to realizing our vision. Congratulations to the NASA, Firefly, and SpaceX teams on this successful launch.”
After the launch, the spacecraft separated from its rocket at 2:17 a.m. ET and established communications with the ground. The team then checked out the spacecraft’s position and health, ensuring everything was working correctly and that data could be transferred.
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Now, the Blue Ghost spacecraft will spend around 25 days in orbit around the Earth before heading toward the moon for a four-day journey there and then spending 16 days in lunar orbit. The aim is to attempt a landing on the moon on Sunday, March 2, in an area called the Mare Crisium basin, a 300-mile-wide crater located in the northern part of the moon’s near side, and for the spacecraft to then perform experiments in lunar drilling and sample collection.
“On behalf of Firefly, we want to thank SpaceX for a spot-on deployment in our target orbit,” said Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace. “The mission is now in the hands of the unstoppable Firefly team. After all the testing conducted and mission simulations completed, we’re now fully focused on execution as we look to complete our on-orbit operations, softly touch down on the lunar surface, and pave the way for humanity’s return to the moon.”