Farewell, Blue Ghost! Private moon lander goes dark to end record-breaking commercial lunar mission
The historic mission of Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander is over.
The solar-powered Blue Ghost went dark on Sunday evening (March 16) after the sun set on its lunar locale, bringing an end to a highly successful two weeks of surface operations on the moon.
"We battle-tested every system on the lander and simulated every mission scenario we could think of to get to this point," Blue Ghost Chief Engineer Will Coogan said in a Firefly statement today (March 17) that announced the end of the mission.
"But what really sets this team apart is the passion and commitment to each other," he added. "Our team may look younger and less experienced than those of many nations and companies that attempted moon landings before us, but the support we have for one another is what fuels the hard work and dedication to finding every solution that made this mission a success."
Blue Ghost's mission, which Firefly called "Ghost Riders in the Sky," was the company's first-ever lunar effort. The flight was supported by NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which puts agency science gear on robotic landers to gather a wealth of cost-effective data ahead of the arrival of Artemis astronauts on the moon a few years from now.
Blue Ghost carried 10 NASA payloads, which it successfully delivered to a basaltic plain on the lunar near side called Mare Crisium ("Sea of Crises") on March 2. The successful touchdown was just the second ever by a private lunar lander, after that of Intuitive Machines' Odysseus vehicle in February 2024. Odysseus operated for seven Earth days on the lunar surface before going dark.
The mission plan called for Blue Ghost, and those science instruments, to operate for a lunar day — about two Earth weeks. And that indeed happened, Firefly said today, declaring "Ghost Riders in the Sky" 100% successful.
"After a flawless moon landing, the Firefly team immediately moved into surface operations to ensure all 10 NASA payloads could capture as much science as possible during the lunar day," Firefly CEO Jason Kim said in the same statement.
"We're incredibly proud of the demonstrations Blue Ghost enabled, from tracking GPS signals on the moon for the first time to robotically drilling deeper into the lunar surface than ever before," Kim said. "We want to extend a huge thank you to the NASA CLPS initiative and the White House administration for serving as the bedrock for this Firefly mission. It has been an honor to enable science and technology experiments that support future missions to the moon, Mars and beyond."
Related: Touch down on the moon with private Blue Ghost lander in this amazing video
Blue Ghost was even able to observe the "Blood Worm Moon" total lunar eclipse of March 13-14. But, thanks to its unique vantage point, the lander saw this dramatic event as a solar eclipse, snapping a gorgeous "diamond ring" photo that Firefly shared with the world.
The lander beamed home a total of 119 gigabytes (GB) of data, including 51 GB of science information, before going dark as expected on Sunday at around 7:15 p.m. EDT (2315 GMT), according to Firefly.
Blue Ghost's final hours were productive. It "captured imagery of the lunar sunset on March 16, providing NASA with data on whether lunar dust levitates due to solar influences and creates a lunar horizon glow that was hypothesized and observed by Eugene Cernan on Apollo 17," Firefly wrote in the statement. "Following the sunset, Blue Ghost operated for 5 hours into the lunar night and continued to capture imagery that measures how dust behavior changes after sunset."
RELATED STORIES:
— 'We're on the moon!' Private Blue Ghost moon lander aces historic lunar landing for NASA
— Watch sparks fly as Blue Ghost lander drills into the moon (video)
— Wow! Private lunar lander watches 'diamond ring' eclipse from the surface of the moon (photo)
"Ghost Riders in the Sky" was part of a wave of private moon exploration. For instance, Blue Ghost launched on Jan. 15 along with another private lunar lander, Tokyo-based ispace's Resilience, which is expected to make its own touchdown attempt on June 5.
And Intuitive Machines' second lunar lander, called Athena, lifted off on Feb. 26 and landed near the moon's south pole on March 6. However, Athena, which was also flying a CLPS mission, tipped onto its side just after touchdown and was declared dead on March 7.
That exploration surge will continue in the coming years, if all goes to plan. Firefly is already looking forward to its second moon mission, a CLPS effort that's expected to launch in 2026. That flight will send Blue Ghost to the lunar far side and also place Firefly's "Elytra Dark" spacecraft in orbit around the moon.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Astronauts for Crew-11 fly into KSC ahead of upcoming launch
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — The business of hurtling humans into space is getting routine on the Space Coast with the fourth flight of a SpaceX Crew Dragon queued up for this week. The crew going for that ride arrived in Florida on Saturday. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, the quartet for SpaceX's Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station, flew into the former space shuttle landing site at KSC after noon under the searing sun as temperatures on the tarmac climbed into the 90s. 'Sorry for the heat, but it's Florida in the summertime,' said veteran Fincke, who kept cracking jokes and even made bunny ears behind Platonov's head during a photo as the crewmates talked to media. They're slated to lift off as early as 12:09 p.m. Thursday from KSC's Launch Pad 39-A atop a Falcon 9 rocket riding in the Crew Dragon Endeavour. 'We've been training together for over a year now and we are ready to fly,' said Cardman, who is making her first spaceflight. 'As a first-time flyer, this is the first moment when it's really starting to feel real.' They expect at least a six-month stay on board the space station where they will relieve the four members of Crew-10 on board since March. In addition to the two NASA flights this year, SpaceX has flown a private polar orbital mission Fram2 in March and the private Axiom Space Ax-4 mission to the space station last month. The launch is one shy of the five human spaceflight missions from Florida seen in 2024, although it would equal the number of people launching with 16 in space. Both last year's Boeing Starliner CFT mission and the Crew-9 mission only flew up with two crew each instead of four. That was because Crew-9 became the ride home for Starliner astronauts after NASA opted to send Boeing's beleaguered spacecraft home minus crew over safety concerns — and they ultimately had to be ferried home by SpaceX. NASA astronaut Michael Fincke talks about how he started to bald after going to space causing laughter from Crew-11 crewmate and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui after they arrived to Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, July 26, 2025 ahead of their planned launch this week to the International Space Station. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) NASA astronaut and pilot Michael Fincke gives a handoff wave to Crew-11 crewmate JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yu as NASA astronaut and commander Zena Cardman, left, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, right, look on after they arrived to Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, July 26, 2025 ahead of their planned launch this week to the International Space Station. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) NASA astronaut and pilot Michael Fincke cracks a joke causing JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui to break into laughter after they and their fellow Crew-11 crewmates, NASA astronaut and commander Zena Cardman and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, arrived to Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, July 26, 2025 ahead of their planned launch this week to the International Space Station. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) The four members of Crew-11 arrive to Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, July 26, 2025 ahead of their planned launch this week to the International Space Station. From left to right are NASA astronaut and commander Zena Cardman, NASA astronaut and pilot Michael Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov along with his translator. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) The four members of Crew-11 arrive to Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, July 26, 2025 ahead of their planned launch this week to the International Space Station. From left to right are NASA astronaut and commander Zena Cardman, NASA astronaut and pilot Michael Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov along with his translator. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) Show Caption1 of 6NASA astronaut Michael Fincke, right, raises some bunny ears behind the head Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov while posing for photos with their Crew-11 crewmates, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, after arriving at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, July 26, 2025 ahead of their planned launch this week to the International Space Station. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel)Expand Endeavour is making a record sixth trip to space, the first of SpaceX's fleet of five Crew Dragons to hit that mark as NASA looks to stretch their utility beyond the original five flights for which they have been certified. Cardman was originally tapped as commander for the Crew-9 mission, but as a rookie, she was bumped in favor of another member of that crew with flight experience. She is now back for Crew-11 as its commander. She becomes the last of 12 NASA astronauts from the 2017 class known as The Turtles to make it space. 'In spaceflight, the journey is often nonlinear. It's just a privilege to be here with this crew, especially. I have the privilege of overlapping with one of my classmates, Jonny Kim, who's currently on board as a member of Expedition 73. I also have the privilege of flying with Kimiya Yui, whose patch has a turtle on it. And so that makes him an honorary turtle in my heart.' Fincke was also reassigned from what was supposed to be Starliner's first operational crew mission, Starliner-1, but shifted to this SpaceX mission as Boeing and NASA continue to work on Starliner's issues. He is making his fourth trip to space having made trips on Soyuz in 2004 and 2008 as well as the penultimate flight of the Space Shuttle Program, STS-134, on Space Shuttle Endeavour in 2011. 'It's been a really interesting journey watching brand new spaceships be built,' Fincke said. 'I'm very proud of our teams, both SpaceX and Boeing, to what they built together and really proud to actually finally fly on a commercial crew spacecraft.' Japan's Yui also was training for a Starliner flight, but is now headed for his second trip to space — having been on a Soyuz mission in 2015. 'My last mission was 10 years ago, so I'm very much looking forward to going back to my home,' he said. Platonov joins Cardman as the second rookie on this mission. The four will be on board when the station reaches a milestone on Nov. 2, which will signify 25 years of continuous occupation. They will be part of Expeditions 73 and 74 along with the three members on board that flew up on a Soyuz. 'I'm personally looking forward to going back up to the space station. I helped build it, and now I get to see it in its full maturity with six other crewmates,' Fincke said. NASA looks to decommission the station after 2030. 'I know it's coming near its time, but this is something that I think that humans should just really remember of all the cool things we can do when we work together constructively,' Fincke said. Solve the daily Crossword
Digital Trends
3 hours ago
- Digital Trends
Remember Ingenuity? NASA's proposed Skyfall mission takes it further in stunning video
NASA's incredible Ingenuity helicopter spent nearly three flying across the surface of Mars, becoming the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on a planet other than Earth. After suffering damage to one of its blades in early 2024, Ingenuity was grounded for good, and now rests on the martian surface as a testament to technological innovation and the triumph of autonomous flight on another planet. In an exciting development, the plucky helicopter has now inspired Skyfall, a mission concept recently unveiled by Virginia-based AeroVironment (AV) and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), who worked together to develop the Ingenuity aircraft. As you can see in the video at the top of this page, the Skyfall mission is designed to deploy not one but six helicopters on Mars, each of which would fly off to explore various locations selected by NASA as potential landing spots for the first crewed mission to the red planet, which could take place in the 2030s. The gathered data could also help scientists learn more about Mars, contributing to the expanding database of information collected by other Mars vehicles such as the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers. The video shows the dramatic Skyfall Maneuver, described by AV as 'an innovative entry, descent, and landing technique whereby the six rotorcraft deploy from their entry capsule during its descent through the martian atmosphere.' With the helicopters flying down to the Mars surface under their own power, the Skyfall system would do away with the need for a landing platform, which is one of the most expensive parts of any Mars mission and also carries huge risk. Just like Ingenuity, each helicopter would be capable of operating autonomously, and beam high-resolution imagery back to Earth for analysis, allowing mission planners to select the best possible landing location for the first human mission. 'Skyfall offers a revolutionary new approach to Mars exploration that is faster and more affordable than anything that's come before it,' said William Pomerantz, head of space ventures at AV. 'Thanks to a true partnership between industry and government, we're expanding the unprecedented success of Ingenuity.' Pomerantz added that with six helicopters, 'Skyfall offers a low-cost solution that multiplies the range we would cover, the data we would collect, and the scientific research we would conduct, making humanity's first footprints on Mars meaningfully closer.' With NASA's first human missions in mind and the need to identify an ideal landing area, AV is already working with NASA's JPL in the hope of getting the green light for the mission before working toward a potential 2028 launch.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
How running for 75 minutes a week could help you live longer — and feel younger
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. It's no secret that regular exercise is good for your health, but new research has uncovered a fascinating link between running and biological aging. In a study of over 4,400 U.S. adults, researchers found that those who jogged or ran for at least 75 minutes per week had significantly longer leukocyte telomeres. That might sound like something out of a science textbook, but it's really just a fancy way of saying your cells look younger on the inside. Telomeres sit at the ends of your chromosomes and act like little caps that protect your DNA. The longer they are, the better off you tend to be when it comes to aging. If you're looking to get started or find the right shoes for your runs, check out our guide to the best running shoes for every type of runner. This Brooks sneaker offers excellent comfort and support for everyday runs. The 27% saving applies to the women's model, but you'll find the same deal on the men's version as well. Just double-check that your size and favorite color are included in the offer before Deal The magic number is 75 minutes a week The study used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and grouped people into three categories based on how much they ran each week. Only those who hit 75 minutes or more saw significant benefits to their telomere length, even after researchers controlled for differences in age, lifestyle, and medical history. In fact, the difference was big enough to suggest runners could be roughly 12 years biologically younger than those who don't run regularly. People who ran less than that? Well, they pretty much looked the same as the non-runners. While the results are compelling, it's worth being cautious. The results come from a single snapshot in time and rely on people accurately reporting their exercise, which can sometimes be optimistic. Still, the message is clear and encouraging: making running a regular habit might just be one of the simplest ways to help your cells stay spry. How to make it work for you The best part is that 75 minutes per week breaks down to just over 10 minutes (and 43 seconds if we are being pernickety) a day. That's a realistic goal for many people. If you're just getting started, try alternating walking and running using a beginner-friendly approach like Jeffing. This run-walk method can help you build endurance while easing the impact on your joints. Our fitness editor Jane swapped running for 'Jeffing' for a week and found it surprisingly enjoyable. And if running isn't your thing, other vigorous activities like swimming, cycling, or cardio workouts could offer similar benefits. Whichever route you choose, the science is stacking up in favor of getting your heart rate up. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. More from Tom's Guide Forget the sauna — soaking in a hot tub could be better for your health, says new study No, not crunches — trainer says these 5 bodyweight moves are the secret to building stronger abs Fibermaxxing is the latest gut health trend, but does it really work?
