The original assumption was that commercial lunar landings would be, to use a basketball term, “shots on goal” with some of them failing.
Blue Ghost conducted the DOI on the far side of the Moon, which caused a communications blackout with Earth. The spacecraft was on the correct flight path when communications with Blue Ghost resumed around 20 minutes after the burn, and the lander coasted for around 30 minutes until it reached an altitude of roughly 20 km over the lunar surface.
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured an exciting view of Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander following its recent touchdown on the moon.
Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar spacecraft landed upright on the Moon–a first for a private company–and released amazing HD video of the moment.
On Sunday (March 2), Blue Ghost — built and operated by the Texas-based company Firefly Aerospace — became just the second private spacecraft ever to soft-land on the moon, coming to rest in the near side's Mare Crisium ("Sea of Crises") region.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter managed to capture a photo of Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander on the surface of the Moon, in a stunning instance of the orbiter’s surveillance power.
Commercial missions to the Moon are becoming easier, but there are still hurdles to cross for those attempting to reach the lunar south pole.
“Firefly is literally and figuratively over the moon,” said Jason Kim, the CEO of Firefly Aerospace in a statement. "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."
Firefly Aerospace's lander reached lunar soil early Sunday morning, after a 2.8-million-mile journey lasting 45 days
Moon landings were once exclusive to government agencies, but Firefly Aerospace is now the second company to do it.
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost spacecraft made history today (March 2), becoming just the second private vehicle ever to soft-land on the moon.