Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander has completed its mission on the Moon after two weeks of conducting science experiments for NASA. The lander lost contact over the weekend as the lunar night began, with the sun setting and no longer providing power to its solar panels.
Firefly CEO Jason Kim announced on Sunday night via social media, “Mission is completed, but the Ghost still lives on in our hearts and minds for the journey it’s taken us on!”
The lander successfully operated for five hours into the lunar night before it shut down. Kim mentioned that photos of the lunar sunset and glow would be released on Tuesday.
Launched in January from Cape Canaveral as part of NASA’s commercial lunar delivery program, Blue Ghost landed on the Moon’s far northeastern edge on March 2. The lander carried various instruments for NASA, including a drill and vacuum, and Firefly confirmed that all 10 of its planned experiments were successful.
Late last week, Blue Ghost captured a rare sight: a total solar eclipse from the Moon, which is a total lunar eclipse as viewed from Earth.
Firefly, a Texas-based company, made history by becoming the first private company to successfully land on the Moon without any mishaps, following a series of failed attempts by other private companies in recent years. With this achievement, Firefly joins an exclusive group, as only five countries — the United States, Russia, China, India, and Japan — have previously achieved successful lunar landings.
A Japanese company’s lunar lander, launched alongside a SpaceX rocket, took a longer route to reach the Moon. This lander, from ispace, is aiming for a touchdown in early June.
Meanwhile, another Texas-based company, Intuitive Machines, suffered a failed mission earlier this month when its lander ended up tilted in a crater near the Moon’s south pole. This marked the second failed mission for Intuitive Machines. Their first lander successfully put the U.S. back on the Moon last year for the first time since the Apollo era, despite a less-than-ideal landing that affected communication.
Firefly, on the other hand, is already planning its next lunar lander mission, aiming to complete one moon landing per year.