Blue Ghost Lunar Lander Prepares for Moon Landing
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander successfully entered lunar orbit last week, completing a four-day journey from Earth and beginning preparations for landing on the lunar surface. As part of the Ghost Riders in the Sky mission, the spacecraft recently performed a 3-minute, 18-second maneuver to lower its orbit. This maneuver brought the lander to an altitude of 120 kilometers above the lunar surface, where it will remain until the descent begins.
Firefly posted a close-up image of the lunar surface taken by Blue Ghost on social media platform X. The post notes that periodic communication disruptions may occur as the spacecraft orbits the far side of the Moon. While the lander is on the near side, the Firefly team continues to receive data and refine plans for the next engine burns and landing sequence. "This will bring Blue Ghost even closer to the lunar surface and allow us to stay on track for our March 2 landing," the post said.
Blue Ghost was launched last month aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Ghost Riders in the Sky mission is part of NASA's CLPS program, in which private companies deliver scientific experiments and equipment to the Moon. Blue Ghost carries 10 research and technology demonstrators designed to study the lunar environment as part of NASA's preparations for returning astronauts to the Moon under the Artemis program.
Another lunar lander, Resilience, from the Japanese company ispace, was launched on the same rocket as Blue Ghost. This is ispace's second lunar lander – the company's first attempt was unsuccessful. Resilience carries the micro-rover Tenacious and also hopes for a soft landing on the Moon's surface, albeit on a completely different trajectory than its companion Blue Ghost.
Resilience's orbit and path to landing require significantly less energy than Blue Ghost's, but the trade-off is time. The spacecraft has about 3.5 months left before its landing attempt. Blue Ghost will have completed its mission by then.
If all goes according to plan, Blue Ghost will be the second private mission to land on the Moon. After landing on the lunar surface, the spacecraft will have a full lunar day (about two weeks) before sunset and loss of power. During this time, NASA's 10 payloads will actively collect samples, test components, and make discoveries that will help better design future missions to the Moon and beyond.
