On January 15 at 1:11 PM, Firefly Aerospace successfully sent the Blue Ghost landing module to the moon, in the eastern United States. The device was launched on the Falcon 9 missile from SpaceX, marking a significant step towards becoming the second American device to gently land on the lunar surface, following the Apollo program.
The mission, named Ghost Riders in the Sky, is inspired by the classic country ballad, depicting a cowboy’s vision of devilish cows and shepherds’ souls on fire-breathing horses in the sky. The spacecraft will spend the next four weeks gradually moving away from the Earth in an ever wider orbit, carrying NASA scientific devices on board.
The mission is part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, in which NASA partners with private companies like Firefly Aerospace to deliver goods to the moon as part of the ambitious Artemis project. Ray Allensvort, director of the Firefly Aerospace space program, emphasized the importance of collecting scientific data from CLPS missions for the development of not only Artemis but also other planets.
For Firefly Aerospace, this mission marks their first flight to the moon, testing the effectiveness of the CLPS program. NASA has allocated up to $2.6 billion for lunar delivery to private companies, with Firefly’s contract amounting to $101 million, significantly less than the cost of creating their own landing module.
NASA aims to increase the frequency of robotic lunar missions, with Blue Ghost being the third device launched on CLPS since January 2024, and more launches planned for the year. However, the cost and speed of these missions come with risks, as private manufacturers are responsible for designing and managing their devices, increasing the chance of failure.
Despite the challenges, NASA remains committed to advancing lunar exploration through partnerships with private companies like Firefly Aerospace, in the hopes of achieving significant scientific breakthroughs and paving the way for future space exploration endeavors.