Private lunar lander Blue Ghost lands on the moon with equipment for NASA
FOX NewsMAR 2
Private US Lander Makes First Upright Moon Landing
Above: Blue Ghost's shadow seen on the moon's surface. Image copyright: Firefly Aerospace
The Facts
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost spacecraft landed on the moon on Sunday at 3:34 am EST, becoming the second private company to achieve a lunar landing and the first to land upright and stable.
The spacecraft touched down near Mons Latreille in Mare Crisium, a volcanic basin on the moon's northeastern near side, as part of a $2.6B Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
Blue Ghost, launched on Jan. 15 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, traveled over 2.8M miles and successfully performed hazard avoidance maneuvers to land within 100 meters of its target.
The Spin
Narrative A
The successful upright landing of Blue Ghost is a crucial milestone in commercializing lunar exploration. It proves that private companies can reliably deliver scientific payloads to the moon while reducing costs through competition and innovation.
Narrative B
The increasing privatization of lunar missions raises concerns about the future of government-led space programs, particularly as political priorities shift between moon and Mars exploration. This could affect long-term scientific research and international space leadership.
