Mare Crisium: Carrying a suite of NASA science and technology, the US firm Firefly Aerospace successfully landed on the moon with its Blue Ghost spacecraft on Sunday, kicking off a two-week research mission. The mission marks a significant milestone for Firefly Aerospace as it continues to expand its presence in the space exploration industry.

According to Qatar News Agency, the Blue Ghost spacecraft, roughly the size of a compact car, carried 10 scientific payloads as it touched down near an ancient volcanic vent on Mare Crisium, a large basin situated in the northeast corner of the moon’s Earth-facing side. This strategic location offers unique geological features important for scientific study.

The Blue Ghost lander is in an upright and stable configuration, confirming the success of the mission. This achievement is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and the broader Artemis campaign. It represents the first CLPS delivery for Firefly Aerospace and their inaugural Moon landing, underscoring the company’s growing capabilities in lunar exploration.

Firefly Aerospace now stands as the second private firm to accomplish a moon landing. However, it has declared itself the first company to achieve a “fully successful” soft landing. This distinction is made in comparison to Houston-based Intuitive Machines, whose Odysseus lander made a lopsided touchdown last year. Although Intuitive Machines’ lander landed mostly intact, many of its onboard instruments were rendered inoperative.