The Blue Ghost lunar lander is beaming back spectacular imagery of the moon as it orbits ahead of its planned March 2 landing attempt, which could make Texas-based Firefly Aerospace the second private company to successfully touch down on the lunar surface.
“The latest Moon footage captured by Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander is completely surreal,” said Joseph Marlin, deputy chief engineer for Blue Ghost. “Seeing the real-life footage of the Moon’s craters and boulders from our very own spacecraft is such an inspiration, and really hits home how close we are to our final destination.”
The spacecraft, which left Earth’s orbit on February 8 and successfully entered lunar orbit on February 13, has traveled over 715,000 miles in space. It recently transitioned to a lower elliptical orbit approximately 120 kilometers (74.6 miles) above the lunar surface, capturing close-up footage of the moon’s far side – an area not visible from Earth – and stunning imagery of the lunar south pole.
Earth rise, Earth set, repeat! Blue Ghost's third and final lunar orbit maneuver is complete! Early this morning, our #GhostRiders performed a 16-second burn with our RCS thrusters to enter a near-circular low lunar orbit. Up next, we'll perform a 19-second Descent Orbit… pic.twitter.com/B8ptv1D0yv
— Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space) February 24, 2025
“I almost started crying because we’re finally at the moon,” Ray Allensworth, director of Firefly’s spacecraft program, told Business Insider. “Looking at the photos is really surreal.”
Blue Ghost carries 10 NASA science and technology instruments as part of the space agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, which supports the broader Artemis program.
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander has snapped an incredible view of the far side of the Moon-the hidden face we never see from Earth! The spacecraft is currently orbiting 120 km above the lunar surface and was set to land on March 2. pic.twitter.com/ebuMiYPdI1
— Briefly (@Brieflybynewj) February 22, 2025
After landing, the instruments will operate for one lunar day (about 14 Earth days) to collect data on the lunar surface.
The lander is expected to touch down on the far eastern edge of the moon’s near side by Mons Latreille, an ancient volcanic feature in Mare Crisium (the “Sea of Crises”), a basin more than 300 miles wide.
“In addition to the wealth of science we plan to transmit to Earth from CLPS experiments, we expect to capture a solar eclipse on March 14 where the Earth will block the sun from the Moon’s surface and cast Blue Ghost into a shadow for about five hours,” Marlin explained.
One of the mission’s final acts will be capturing the lunar sunset on March 16, with hopes of verifying the dust levitation phenomenon first sketched by the last Apollo astronaut on the Moon. This mysterious effect, where lunar dust appears to “levitate” above the surface, was observed by astronaut Eugene Cernan during the Apollo program.
If successful, Firefly would join Intuitive Machines as only the second private company to achieve a lunar landing. The mission represents another step in the new era of commercial lunar exploration, with companies racing to establish infrastructure for future economic activities like lunar tourism, mining, and exploration.
“Ultimately, our goal is that we’re going to the moon at least yearly and hopefully increase that cadence over time,” Allensworth said.