Firefly Aerospace Pulls Off First Commercial Moon Landing

Firefly Aerospace Pulls Off First Commercial Moon Landing

By James Seidel | CC News Network

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander successfully touched down on the moon early Sunday, marking the first fully successful commercial moon landing by a privately built and operated robotic spacecraft.

The achievement represents a new chapter in the United States’ long history of lunar exploration, beginning with Apollo 11 in 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. Between 1969 and 1972, NASA’s Apollo program sent six missions to the lunar surface, establishing the U.S. as the only country to successfully land astronauts on the moon and return them safely to Earth.

After the final Apollo mission in 1972, U.S. lunar exploration entered a long hiatus, with NASA focusing on space shuttles, space stations, and deep-space probes. The modern era of robotic lunar exploration—driven by NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program—has shifted that focus, encouraging private companies to take the lead in returning to the moon.

The Texas-based company’s lander, about 6.6 feet tall and 11.5 feet wide, fired its main engine at 2:31 a.m. EST, dropping out of lunar orbit and beginning a 63-minute descent toward its target in Mare Crisium, also known as the Sea of Crises, located in the northeast quadrant of the moon as seen from Earth.

For the first 52 minutes, the lander coasted toward the surface before switching to its main engine and eight smaller reaction control system thrusters, reducing its speed from 3,800 mph to 90 mph. Blue Ghost then autonomously scanned the landing site for hazards, including boulders and steep slopes.

Using only its reaction control jets for the final descent, Blue Ghost gently lowered itself to the lunar surface at just 2.2 mph, ultimately landing upright and stable.

Inside Firefly Aerospace’s Austin, Texas headquarters, employees and family members—known within the company as Fireflies—watched live telemetry stream in from the lander, with each successful milestone met by applause and celebration.

“Eleven meters up,” a flight controller said, as the lander approached the surface. Within moments, the thrusters cut off, landing legs absorbed the impact, and sensors confirmed surface contact.

“Engine shutdown confirmed,” a controller announced, followed by another confirming that solar panels were generating power.

“IMU (inertial measurement unit) reports lunar gravity, and it is stable,” another team member added, prompting cheers from the room.

Will Coogan, Firefly’s chief engineer, declared the official result: “You all stuck the landing! We’re on the moon!”

A dramatic image sent back by a camera on the lander showed Blue Ghost’s shadow cast across the lunar surface, with Earth rising in the background.

A Historic Moment for Private Spaceflight

Firefly’s landing represents a critical milestone for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which aims to partner with private companies to deliver science experiments and technology to the moon ahead of future Artemis crewed missions.

NASA awarded Firefly Aerospace $101 million to carry 10 NASA-sponsored instruments to the surface. The payloads will study lunar dust behavior, thermal properties of the soil, and even test new techniques for collecting surface samples without robotic arms.

The Blue Ghost will operate for the duration of the lunar day—approximately two Earth weeks—with power generated by its solar panels. If conditions allow, it may continue operating briefly after sunset using battery power.

From Apollo to Artemis to Private Landings

Firefly’s landing represents a critical milestone in NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which is designed to outsource cargo delivery to the moon to private companies. The goal: build a reliable system for delivering instruments and technology to the lunar surface ahead of future Artemis missions, when NASA astronauts will return to the moon later this decade.

NASA awarded Firefly Aerospace $101 million to carry 10 NASA-sponsored instruments to the surface. The payloads will study lunar dust behavior, thermal properties of the soil, and even test new techniques for collecting surface samples without robotic arms.

The Blue Ghost will operate for the duration of the lunar day, approximately two Earth weeks, using solar power. If conditions allow, it may continue operating briefly after sunset using battery power.

Shifting from Governments to Private Sector

“Once upon a time, moon landings were the exclusive domain of governments spending billions of dollars,” said Firefly CEO Jason Kim. “Now, Firefly Aerospace has landed on the moon at a fraction of the cost, using cutting-edge commercial technology.”

Kim compared the moment to Olympic gymnast Simone Biles sticking a perfect landing, saying, “We’re going to do the same thing for Texas, for America, and for the world.”

A New View of the Moon

For Firefly’s spacecraft program director Ray Allensworth, the moon will never look the same.

“Every time I look up at the moon now, I’ll know that our spacecraft is sitting there, and that changes everything,” Allensworth said. “It’s not just a distant light in the sky anymore—it’s a place we’ve touched.”

Looking Ahead

Firefly’s first success is just the beginning. The company holds a $130 million contract for a second CLPS mission in 2026, which will deliver a lander and an orbiter to the far side of the moon. A third contract, valued at $179 million, will send a lander, a rover, and an orbiter to the surface in the years ahead.

With competitors like Intuitive Machines and ispace also pushing for commercial footholds on the moon, Firefly’s success marks a major step toward building a sustainable commercial lunar economy.

“This is more than a single landing,” Kim said. “This is the start of regular, cost-effective deliveries to the moon—and a stepping stone toward Mars.”

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James Seidel covers science and technology for CC News Network.