A spacecraft called Blue Ghost has successfully landed on the Moon, making history as only the second privately built vehicle to do so.
It was launched on January 15 by Firefly Aerospace, a company based in the United States. The mission aims to explore the Sea of Crises, a large crater visible from Earth.
The landing is part of a collaboration with NASA, which is working with private companies to make space missions more affordable. Blue Ghost touched down smoothly after spending two weeks orbiting the Moon. The Firefly Aerospace team in Texas cheered when they confirmed the successful landing.
Earlier this year, another company, Intuitive Machines, attempted a lunar landing with their Odysseus spacecraft. While Odysseus reached the Moon, it landed on a sloped crater, damaging its landing gear and tipping over. Intuitive Machines now plans to land another spacecraft, Athena, near the Moon’s south pole soon.
According to Dr. Simeon Barber, a planetary scientist from the Open University, Blue Ghost’s success is an important milestone. He explained that the last time similar technology was used was in the 1970s, during NASA’s Apollo missions. Learning how to land on and explore the Moon helps scientists prepare for future space missions.
NASA plans to send astronauts back to the Moon by the end of the decade. The next step, Artemis II, is scheduled for 2026 and will send four astronauts around the Moon without landing. Artemis III, planned for 2027, aims to put astronauts on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. China also hopes to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030.
