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Private commercial vehicle Blue Ghost lands on the Moon

Credit: Firefly Aerospace
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Bristol, UK
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Blue Ghost becomes the second commercial vehicle to ever land on the Moon. Launched by US firm Firefly Aerospace, the project is a collaboration between NASA and several private companies.

Another space vehicle has successfully made the trip between Earth and the Moon.

Blue Ghost was launched on January 15th 2025 as part of a collaboration between US firm Firefly Aerospace, NASA and several other private companies. The project intends to explore the Sea of Crises, a huge basin on the Moon’s surface that is visible from Earth.

This is not the first private company to achieve such an extraordinary feat, mind.

Intuitive Machines, another separate firm to Firefly Aerospace, was the first to make it to the Moon. Its spacecraft Odysseus landed on 22nd February 2024, though it touched down onto the slope of a crater and damaged some of its landing gear, ultimately toppling over.

However, Intuitive Machines is aiming to land another vehicle called Athena near the Moon’s south pole over the coming days. Exciting stuff.

As for Blue Ghost, Firefly Aerospace says it has touched down smoothly and was in orbit around the Moon for two weeks. Staff at the company’s headquarters in Texas erupted in celebration when the landing was successful.

Speaking to the BBC, planet science researcher Dr Simeon Barber said that this was an exciting development in space research. ‘They’ve demonstrated a technology for landing on the surface of the Moon, the kind that had been forgotten after the Apollo era,’ he said.

He also explained that these Moon projects were important for private firms to establish a launch pad for further exploration of the cosmos. With more funding available and far more sustainable plans currently in development compared to the Apollo missions of last century, Dr Simeon expects humans to return to the Moon in the future.

The first private company to attempt to land on the Moon was Astrobotic Technology, another US firm. A fuel leak caused its lander to fail and crash back to Earth, breaking apart and falling into the southern Pacific Ocean.

These breakthroughs come off the back of the news that Katy Perry will be launched into space this year as part of an all-female crew with Blue Origin. She won’t be visiting the Moon, however.

Remote Writer Bristol, UK

I’m Charlie (He/Him), a Remote Writer at Thred. I was previously the Editor at Thred before moving to Bristol in 2024. As a music and gaming enthusiast, I’m a nerd for pop culture. You can find me curating playlists, designing article headline images, and sipping cider on a Thursday. Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback via email.

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