Firefly Aerospace’s **Blue Ghost** lander made a significant mark on **March 2** by successfully completing a **moon landing**, making it the first entirely successful commercial spacecraft to touch down on the lunar terrain. The robotic lander descended smoothly and without incident, with **NASA cameras** documenting the entire journey from descent to touchdown.

NASA’s **Stereo Cameras for Lunar-Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS)** captured **3,000 frames** during the event. This pioneering footage will aid scientists and engineers in comprehending the behavior of **moon dust** when thrusters engage with the lunar surface, offering essential insights for upcoming **crewed and robotic missions**.

The NASA footage of the landing starts as **Blue Ghost**, which stands **6.6 feet tall and spans 11.5 feet wide**, was **91 feet (28 meters)** above the lunar surface. During its descent, the thrusters disturbed **lunar dust, soil, and rocks**—collectively referred to as **regolith**. After the lander made contact with the surface, the thrusters turned off, allowing the dust to settle and revealing the surrounding landscape.

### The Challenges of Lunar Landings

Despite this achievement, landing on the **moon** continues to be a formidable task. In contrast to Earth, the moon possesses **practically no atmosphere**, necessitating that spacecraft depend entirely on thrusters to decelerate as they approach a rough terrain riddled with **craters and pits**.

While **China and India** have recently succeeded in their landings, U.S. commercial endeavors have encountered obstacles. In **2024**, the **Odysseus** lander incurred damage during an unsteady landing, and another lander from the same company **toppled** in **2025**. That same year, a **Japanese spacecraft** landed **upside down**.

### NASA’s Lunar Ambitions

The mission of Blue Ghost was financed by NASA as part of the **Commercial Lunar Payload Services** initiative, which seeks to establish a **U.S. presence on the moon**. In the years ahead, NASA intends to send **astronauts** to the lunar surface, with a **mid-2027** mission planned to explore the **resource-rich south pole** for a week.

This successful touchdown marks a significant milestone toward future **lunar exploration** and the possibility of a sustained human presence on the **moon**. 🚀🌕