After spending 16 days in lunar orbit for trajectory refinement and sending back stunning views of Earth from a distance of 240,000 miles, the 6.6-foot-tall spacecraft is now ready for a controlled descent to the surface. The touchdown is scheduled for around 3:34 a.m. EST at Mare Crisium, near an ancient volcanic site named Mons Latreille. Powered by solar energy, the lander is expected to function for a full lunar day, equivalent to 14 Earth days. If all goes as planned, it may continue operating on battery power for a few hours during the lunar night before shutting down.
Firefly CEO Jason Kim highlighted the cost-effectiveness of their technology in space operations, emphasizing how their lunar lander, named Blue Ghost, is a testament to the advancements made by the private sector in reducing the expenses of space systems. Kim compared their approach to the traditional multi-billion-dollar efforts by countries in the past, showcasing how Firefly Aerospace is achieving similar goals at a fraction of the cost under a fixed-price contract with cutting-edge commercial technology.
NASA contracted Firefly Aerospace for $101 million to transport 10 agency-sponsored scientific instruments, totaling $44 million in value, to the moon as part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. This program aims to promote private industry involvement in launching NASA payloads to the moon to gather essential scientific and engineering data before the Artemis astronauts begin their missions near the lunar south pole.
The spacecraft, alongside another moon lander called “Resilience” developed by ispace and a lander named Athena created by Intuitive Machines, is part of an ambitious lunar exploration program. Resilience, on a low-energy trajectory, is expected to make its landing attempt in May, while Athena, which launched last week, aims to touch down on March 6. Both landers are funded by NASA through the CLPS program, supporting various scientific experiments and technology demonstrations on the lunar surface.
Overall, these missions mark groundbreaking advancements in lunar exploration, paving the way for future commercial ventures and scientific discoveries on the moon.
The payload for the mission includes imaging cameras, a drill designed to penetrate the lunar surface, a radiation-resistant computer, equipment aimed at capturing GPS signals from Earth, an experiment focused on understanding lunar dust management, and another experiment to monitor the dispersion of dust caused by the lander’s rocket engines. “One of the primary objectives of the CLPS program with NASA is to pave the way for Artemis, which intends to return humans to the moon,” explained Ray Allensworth, the spacecraft program director at Firefly. “Our payloads are gathering data to help us understand the experience of being on the lunar surface and conducting operations there. This information will be instrumental in preparing for the eventual return of humans to the moon.” Initial findings from the autopsy report on the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife have been released. Also, tensions are reported to have escalated during a heated meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. Additionally, the iconic rollercoaster Kingda Ka at Six Flags has been demolished.
