Firefly’s Blue Ghost Lander Is on the Moon. Here’s What to Expect Next

Following a 45-day journey to the Moon, Blue Ghost gently landed on the lunar surface this past weekend to begin its exploratory mission. Here’s what we can expect over the coming days. Firefly Aerospace’s successful touchdown marks a new era of frequent commercial trips to the Moon, paving the way for a long-term human presence on the lunar surface. Before we get too ahead of ourselves, however, we’ve got the ongoing mission to attend to. The Texas company’s inaugural Blue Ghost mission, aptly named “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” pulled off a soft touchdown on the Moon on Sunday at 3:34 a.m. ET. Blue Ghost launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, January 15, on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Texas-based Firefly Aerospace became the second company to land on the Moon, and the first to do it with its lander ending up in an upright position (Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lander tipped over on its side after landing on the Moon in February 2024). “Firefly is literally and ... Read full article.