SpaceX Launches Firefly's Blue Ghost and ispace's Resilience Lunar Landers to the Moon

Jan 15, 2025, 05:30 AM

SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, carrying two private lunar landers from US company Firefly Aerospace and Japanese company ispace. The mission, which lifted off on January 15, 2025 at 1:11 am EST, marks a significant milestone in the growing role of the private sector in lunar exploration. Firefly's Blue Ghost lander is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and is carrying 10 NASA payloads to the Moon to help prepare for future human missions under the Artemis program. Blue Ghost is expected to land on the lunar surface on March 2. ispace's Resilience lander, carrying a rover equipped to gather lunar soil samples, is expected to land on the Moon in May or June. If successful, ispace could achieve the world's first commercial transaction involving lunar resources. Both landers will conduct scientific investigations and aim to demonstrate commercial capabilities in lunar exploration.