US Spacecraft Poised for Daring Moon Landing Attempt

A U.S. commercial spacecraft is just hours away from attempting a historic lunar landing, aiming to become the second private mission to achieve the feat.

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 is set to land near Mons Latreille, a volcanic feature in the Mare Crisium region on the Moon’s northeastern near side, with touchdown expected no earlier than 3:34 AM Eastern Time (0834 GMT) on Sunday.

“Blue Ghost is ready to take the wheel!” Firefly Aerospace announced on social media, confirming that flight controllers had initiated a crucial orbital descent maneuver ahead of landing.

A Milestone in Private Lunar Exploration

Nicknamed “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” the mission comes just over a year after the first-ever commercial lunar landing, further advancing NASA’s collaboration with private industry to cut costs and support Artemis, the U.S. program aiming to return astronauts to the Moon.

The golden-hued lander, roughly the size of a hippopotamus, was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on January 15. Along its journey, it captured stunning images of Earth and the Moon and shared a ride with a Japanese company’s lander scheduled for a May landing attempt.

Blue Ghost carries ten scientific payloads, including:

• A lunar soil analyzer
• A radiation-tolerant computer
• An experiment testing whether existing global satellite navigation systems can assist with Moon landings

The lander is designed to function for a full lunar day (14 Earth days) and is expected to capture high-definition images of an upcoming total lunar eclipse on March 14.

Additionally, on March 16, it will record a lunar sunset to study how dust levitates under solar radiation, potentially offering new insights into the mysterious lunar horizon glow first observed by Apollo astronaut Eugene Cernan.

Upcoming Missions: Athena and the First Lunar Hopping Drone

Blue Ghost’s mission is part of a wave of private lunar expeditions. Just days later, on March 6, Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission will attempt its own landing using the Athena lander.

In February 2024, Intuitive Machines became the first private company to land on the Moon—and the first U.S. lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972. However, the mission was marred by a hard landing, causing the spacecraft to tip over and prematurely end its operation due to solar power failure.

This time, Intuitive Machines has implemented key design improvements, with Athena featuring a taller, slimmer build compared to Blue Ghost. The lander, which launched aboard a SpaceX rocket on Wednesday, is en route to Mons Mouton—the southernmost lunar landing site attempted so far.

Athena’s payload includes:

• Three lunar rovers
• A drill designed to search for water ice
• A groundbreaking hopping drone to explore the Moon’s rugged surface

NASA’s Expanding Private Moon Fleet

Unlike Mars, the Moon lacks an atmosphere, making parachutes ineffective for landings. Instead, spacecraft rely on precise thruster burns to decelerate and achieve a controlled touchdown.

Until Intuitive Machines’ 2024 success, only five national space agencies had completed a lunar landing:

1. The Soviet Union
2. The United States
3. China
4. India
5. Japan

NASA is now aiming to make commercial Moon landings routine under its $2.6 billion Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

However, the push for private lunar exploration comes amid growing speculation that NASA may scale back or even cancel the Artemis program in favor of prioritizing Mars exploration—a long-term ambition supported by former U.S. President Donald Trump and his close ally, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

For now, all eyes remain on Blue Ghost Mission 1 as it inches closer to what could be a groundbreaking moment in private spaceflight history.