‘Here Lies Blue Ghost:’ Private Lander Powers Down After Successful Moon Mission

Historic endeavor comes to an end after the commercial lunar lander completes ‘100 percent of its mission objectives,’ per manufacturer Firefly Aerospace.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, March 18, 2025 at 04:36 PM ET

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Jack Daleo

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander casts a shadow on the surface of the moon. [Courtesy: Firefly Aerospace]

Key Takeaways:

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander successfully completed its mission, setting a new record for the "longest commercial operations on the moon to date" and achieving 100% of its objectives.
The mission stands out as the most successful endeavor under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, especially given recent challenges faced by other commercial landers.
Key achievements include deploying 10 NASA payloads, collecting over 119 gigabytes of data, tracking GPS signals on the moon for the first time, and drilling three feet into the lunar surface.
Firefly Aerospace is already planning future Blue Ghost missions for 2026 and 2028, with aims to land on the far side of the moon and explore unique geological formations.

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“Per aspera ad astra! Love, Blue Ghost.”

The Latin phrase—which roughly translates to “through hardships to the stars”—closes out the final lunar transmission from the Blue Ghost lander, which according to developer Firefly Aerospace achieved the “longest commercial operations on the moon to date” during its approximately two-week mission. The historic sojourn came to an end Sunday evening when the lander powered down after beaming its final data to NASA.