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.
A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying an American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday for the International Space Station (ISS), Russia's Roscosmos space agency said.
China has successfully launched a new satellite, Tianping-3A 02, into space from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province.
Airbus UK wins a £150 million-contract to engineer landing platform that will safely deliver the first European rover on Mars. First British-built rover will explore the red planet in 2030 for signs of present and past life on Mars.
NASA and SpaceX have delayed the launch of a replacement crew meant to return stranded astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to Earth from the International Space Station.
SpaceX’s Starship rocket experienced an explosive failure minutes after liftoff on Thursday, with debris raining over parts of the Caribbean and prompting temporary air traffic halts in parts of Florida.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei announced that the next round of negotiations between Tehran and Washington on nuclear issue will take place in Muscat, Oman.
European gas prices rose modestly on April 15, with the benchmark TTF index climbing 0.5% amid ongoing market adjustments, according to data from the London ICE exchange.
Cambodia confirmed the arrest and transfer of several Chinese nationals, including individuals from Taiwan, to Chinese authorities in March, citing compliance with national law and the One China policy.
The 4th session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent began this week at the UN headquarters in New York, bringing renewed international scrutiny to France and the Netherlands over their continued control of several overseas territories.
South Korea’s finance minister said Tuesday that Seoul will seek to delay U.S. tariffs for as long as possible, as negotiations with Washington continue amid mounting pressure on the country’s export-dependent economy.
A small plane crashed near Kopake, New York, on April 13, killing at 6 people. The Mitsubishi MU-2B aircraft, carrying six people, went down under unclear circumstances. This marks the second aviation accident in New York in a week, raising safety concerns.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for April 10th, covering the latest developments you need to know.
The death toll from the catastrophic roof collapse at a nightclub in Santo Domingo has risen to 98, with more than 160 people injured, according to Dominican authorities.
A quiet Thursday afternoon at St. Peter’s Basilica turned into something extraordinary, as visitors caught a rare glimpse of Pope Francis — not in his familiar white papal robes, but dressed in black trousers and a striped blanket.
In a dramatic about-face, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 90-day pause on newly implemented tariffs for dozens of countries — a move that eased market turmoil but further escalated tensions with China.
A former Meta executive, Sarah Wynn-Williams, testified before U.S. senators on Wednesday, alleging that the company compromised national security to build a lucrative business in China.
The EU is preparing to rule on Apple and Meta’s alleged breaches of the Digital Markets Act, potentially issuing fines as it seeks to curb Big Tech’s dominance and reinforce fair competition across the digital landscape.
US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden are pressing Google and Microsoft for details on their AI partnerships, raising concerns that such deals may stifle competition, breach antitrust laws, and limit innovation in the fast-growing AI sector.
A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying an American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday for the International Space Station (ISS), Russia's Roscosmos space agency said.
Meta Platforms has unveiled the latest iteration of its large language model, introducing two new versions—Llama 4 Scout and Llama 4 Maverick—on Saturday.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei announced that the next round of negotiations between Tehran and Washington on nuclear issue will take place in Muscat, Oman.
European gas prices rose modestly on April 15, with the benchmark TTF index climbing 0.5% amid ongoing market adjustments, according to data from the London ICE exchange.
Cambodia confirmed the arrest and transfer of several Chinese nationals, including individuals from Taiwan, to Chinese authorities in March, citing compliance with national law and the One China policy.
The 4th session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent began this week at the UN headquarters in New York, bringing renewed international scrutiny to France and the Netherlands over their continued control of several overseas territories.
South Korea’s finance minister said Tuesday that Seoul will seek to delay U.S. tariffs for as long as possible, as negotiations with Washington continue amid mounting pressure on the country’s export-dependent economy.
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