Mankind’s Giant Leap of Faith with Blue Ghost Landing on Moon
Blue Ghost Moon landing (Image credit FireFly)
Firefly Aerospace First Commercial Company to Land on Moon
By Raisina Correspondent
New Delhi, March 3: In a giant leap of faith, Blue Ghost became the first commercial lander on the Moon. Texas-based Firefly Aerospace gained key milestone with the Moon landing.
“Firefly is literally and figuratively over the Moon,” the company quoted its CEO Jason Kim saying. He added, “Our Blue Ghost lunar lander now has a permanent home on the lunar surface with 10 NASA payloads”.
The lander carried a plaque with every Firefly employee’s name. “This bold, unstoppable team has proven we’re well equipped to deliver reliable, affordable access to the Moon,” said the CEO of Firefly.
He further stated that “with annual lunar missions, Firefly is paving the way for a lasting lunar presence”. This is the first occasion that a private enterprise has successfully landed on the Moon.
Earlier, India and Japan landed their landers on the Moon to join the US and China in achieving similar feats. But no private company had so far achieved the expertise. Firefly, incidentally, has been working with NASA for years.
The CBS News quoted Will Coogan, the chief engineer of Firefly, saying on the touchdown: “You all stuck the landing. We’re on the moon.”
“The assembled Fireflies (employees) instantly burst into cheers, hugs and raucous applause. They were given ‘Make Space Great Again’ hats,” added the CBS News.
Firefly in a post said that Blue Ghost carried “10 NASA instruments”. “It completed a precision landing in Mare Crisium at 2:34 a.m. CST on March 2 and touched down within its 100-meter landing target next to a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille,” said Firefly in a news article posted on its website.
The Texas-based company confirmed that “Blue Ghost’s shock absorbing legs stabilized the lander after the touch down. Inertial readings confirmed the lander is upright in a stable configuration”. “Following touchdown, Firefly is successfully commanding and communicating with the lander from its Mission Operations Center in Cedar Park, Texas,” added the company.
Accolades are pouring for the key milestone in the space exploration by the mankind for Firefly. “Contact light, engine stop! Congratulations FireFly Aerospace for Blue Ghost’s Mission 1 successful Moon landing today,” said Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin in a post on X. He added, “It also marks a new milestone in the collaborations between NASA and private Space companies.”
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