Fly Me to the Moon: Companies Are Making It Happen

It’s hard to soft land on the Earth’s satellite, but there are private firms finding a way.

Jack Daleo

Friday, June 13, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

NASA’s SCALPSS cameras capture a lunar sunset, with Earth and Venus visible on the horizon. [Courtesy: Firefly Aerospace]

Key Takeaways:

Lunar exploration is rapidly commercializing, with private companies like Firefly Aerospace playing a crucial role in delivering payloads to the moon.
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander achieved a historic success, becoming the most accomplished private lunar lander by delivering significant scientific data, images, and testing new technologies for NASA.
NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program leverages these private missions to cost-effectively test technologies, scout sites, and gather data essential for its Artemis program, aiming to return humans to the moon.
Despite initial failures by other commercial missions, NASA remains committed to CLPS, viewing these ventures as vital learning opportunities that spread risk and prepare for future human lunar exploration.

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When Frank Sinatra popularized “Fly Me to the Moon,” he was probably envisioning a trip up on NASA’s Apollo Lunar Module, which to date is the only lander to deposit humans on the rocky satellite. But space, once the domain of governments and militaries, is an increasingly commercial arena.

In March, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander touched down near the moon’s Mons Latreille, a 4-mile wide mountain rising from the lava plains of the Mare Crisium basin. Over the following lunar day (about two Earth weeks), the car-sized vehicle beamed back a treasure trove of data and, by the time it powered down, accomplished more than any private lunar lander in history.