Firefly Aerospace has become the second U.S. company to achieve a soft moon landing with its debut Blue Ghost lander, marking a significant milestone in the private space sector.

The uncrewed spacecraft touched down on the lunar surface at 3:35 a.m. ET near an ancient volcanic vent on Mare Crisium, a prominent basin on the moon's Earth-facing side.

The Blue Ghost lander, roughly the size of a compact car and equipped with four legs for stability, carried 10 scientific payloads as part of a two-week research mission. Flight controllers at Firefly’s headquarters in Austin, Texas, confirmed via live stream that the lander had successfully entered lunar gravity, with a company official exclaiming, “We’re on the moon.”

Launched a month and a half ago atop a SpaceX rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Blue Ghost descended toward the lunar surface at a measured pace of about two miles per hour. The spacecraft’s precise descent and gentle landing underscore Firefly’s growing capabilities in the competitive arena of lunar exploration.

Firefly Aerospace now joins a select group of private companies in achieving a soft landing on the moon. Last year, Houston-based Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lander made a lopsided touchdown, while only five nations – the former Soviet Union, the United States, China, India, and Japan – have historically accomplished such landings.

As Blue Ghost begins its research mission, Firefly’s achievement is seen as a step forward in the global race to explore and utilize the moon, opening up new opportunities for scientific discovery and commercial ventures in space.

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