Time: Private Lunar Lander Blue Ghost Aces Moon Touchdown With Special Delivery for NASA
Time - Private Lunar Lander Blue Ghost Aces Moon Touchdown With Special Delivery for NASA
By MARCIA DUNN / AP
March 2, 2025 9:31 AM EST

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A private lunar lander carrying a drill, vacuum and other experiments for NASA touched down on the moon Sunday, the latest in a string of companies looking to kickstart business on Earth's celestial neighbor ahead of astronaut missions.
Firefly Aerospaces Blue Ghost lander descended from lunar orbit on autopilot, aiming for the slopes of an ancient volcanic dome in an impact basin on the moons northeastern edge of the near side.
Confirmation of successful touchdown came from the company's Mission Control outside Austin, Texas, following the action some 225,000 miles (360,000 kilometers) away.
You all stuck the landing. Were on the moon, Fireflys Will Coogan, chief engineer for the lander, reported.
An upright and stable landing makes Firefly a startup founded a decade ago the first private outfit to put a spacecraft on the moon without crashing or falling over. Even countries have faltered, with only five claiming success: Russia, the U.S., China, India and Japan.
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