After launching aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 15, Firefly Aerospace’s moon-bound Blue Ghost spacecraft has been orbiting Earth ahead of a trans-lunar injection maneuver in just under a week’s time.
From its current location way above Earth, it’s been beaming back some incredible footage over the last couple of weeks, including this clip of our own planet shared on social media on Monday.
T-5 days until Blue Ghost says goodbye to Earth! With the accuracy we achieved on our first two burns, we were able to skip the third Earth orbit maneuver. Blue Ghost is already in a good position to perform our trans-lunar injection in just under a week. Our #GhostRiders… pic.twitter.com/lMHpr8ix14
— Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space) February 3, 2025
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As you can see from Firefly’s post, Blue Ghost is gearing up to continue its journey to the moon, where it will remain in a lunar orbit for 16 days before attempting a landing on March 2. The entire mission is expected to last close to 60 days, including about 45 days traveling time, and 14 days of operations on the lunar surface.
Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 a part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, and aims to deliver 10 scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to support future human exploration of the moon under the Artemis program.
The Blue Ghost lander, which is about 2 meters tall and 3.5 meters wide, will touch down near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium, a 500-kilometer-wide basin on the moon’s near side, delivering 94 kilograms (207 pounds) of payloads to the lunar surface.
Scientific objectives include analysis of lunar regolith properties, investigation of the interactions between solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field, the evaluation of long-distance Global Navigation Satellite System capabilities, and assessment of radiation-tolerant computing, among other activities.
“This mission embodies the bold spirit of NASA’s Artemis campaign — a campaign driven by scientific exploration and discovery,” NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy said when Blue Ghost left Earth last month. “Each flight we’re a part of is a 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.”
Reaching the moon is no easy feat, with America’s Peregrine lunar lander suffering a catastrophic glitch on its way there in a mission last year, and Japan’s HAKUTO-R Mission 1 failing in the final moments before touchdown.
This is Firefly’s first attempt to land on the moon. Fingers crossed that it nails it.