Engineering:Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost

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Short description: Lunar lander developed by Firefly Aerospace
Blue Ghost
Rendering of Blue Ghost Mission 1 on the Moon
ManufacturerFirefly Aerospace
DesignerFirefly Aerospace
Country of originUnited States
OperatorFirefly Aerospace
ApplicationsLunar payload delivery and support
Specifications
Spacecraft typeLunar lander
Payload capacity150 kg[1]
Power650 W
Production
StatusActive
Built1
On order3
Launched1
Retired1

Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost, or simply Blue Ghost, is a class of lunar landers designed and manufactured by the American company Firefly Aerospace. Firefly builds and operates Blue Ghost landers to deliver small payloads to the surface of the Moon. The first Blue Ghost mission was launched in January, 2025.[2][3][4][5] It successfully landed on the Moon on March 2, 2025.[6] The landers are named after the firefly species Phausis reticulata, known as blue ghosts.[7]

Overview

Firefly is the prime contractor for lunar delivery services using Blue Ghost landers. Firefly provides or subcontracts Blue Ghost payload integration, launch from Earth, landing on the Moon and mission operations. Firefly's Cedar Park facility serves as the company's mission operations center and the location of payload integration. Firefly operates a 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2) spacecraft facility with two mission control centers and an ISO-8 cleanroom to accommodate multiple landers.[8][9]

The spacecraft design is adaptable to each customer’s cislunar needs. Blue Ghost can be customized to support larger, more complex missions, including lunar night operations, surface mobility, and sample return, and is compatible with multiple launch providers. Firefly asserts that in-house end-to-end manufacturing and testing of the Blue Ghost structure is a differentiator among the CLPS landers.[10][11]

On November 29, 2018, NASA announced that Firefly was among the companies eligible for task orders as part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.[12] As of August 18, 2025 NASA has awarded Firefly task orders for four lunar landing missions.

Design

Blue Ghost supplies data, power, and thermal resources for payload operations during transit to the Moon, in lunar orbit, and on the lunar surface. Primary propulsion is provided by a LEROS 4-ET bipropellant main engine from Nammo UK.[13] The engine uses MON and hydrazine as propellants.[14] The engine can provide more than 1,000 N of thrust, and is used for both lunar orbit insertion and powered descent to the surface.[15] Blue Ghost’s eight Spectre thrusters are used in its reaction control system to maintain orientation during maneuvers and to achieve a soft landing. The four carbon composite landing legs have contact sensors that trigger engine shutdown after landing. Solar panels provide up to 400W of electrical power. The lander has one X-band antenna and three S-band antennas for communication with Firefly's mission operations center.

Missions

Blue Ghost M1

On February 4, 2021, NASA awarded Firefly a CLPS task order worth US$93.3 million to deliver a suite of ten science investigations and technology demonstrations to the Moon.[16] On May 20, 2021, Firefly selected Falcon 9 as the launch vehicle for the mission and on March 2, 2025, Blue Ghost Mission 1 successfully landed on the Moon, at Mare Crisium.[17]

Blue Ghost M2

The second Blue Ghost mission is scheduled for launch in 2026.[18] Both the lander and the Lunar Pathfinder spacecraft will be deployed into lunar orbit by an Elytra orbital transfer vehicle.[19] Through JPL NASA has funded a User Terminal payload on the top deck of the lander, which will be used to commission the Lunar Pathfinder satellite.[20] Firefly also intends to use this mission to deliver the Rashid 2 rover to the surface.[21]

Blue Ghost M3

A third Blue Ghost mission is planned for 2028.[22] The mission plan includes a rover, with a landing near the Mons Gruithuisen Gamma lunar dome.[23][24] Instruments from the Lunar-VISE project at University of Central Florida will be included on the lander and rover.[25]

Blue Ghost M4

A fourth Blue Ghost mission, planned for 2029, was announced on July 29, 2025.[26] The mission plans to land on the rim of Haworth Crater near the lunar south pole.[27] The mission will deliver two rovers and three scientific instruments to the lunar surface. One of those rovers, MoonRanger, had originally been scheduled for a mission which would have been conducted by Masten Space Systems. Another rover will come from the Canadian company Canadensys Aerospace.[28]

Blue Ghost M5

In a September, 2025 filing with the SEC, Firefly reported that a "proprietary commercial customer" had selected Blue Ghost for an additional, dedicated mission.[29]

Funding

In 2017, Space Policy Directive 1 signaled the intention of returning NASA astronauts to the Moon. In 2018, NASA solicited bids from nine companies, including Firefly Aerospace, for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. CLPS is part of the NASA Artemis program; one of the long-term goals of Artemis is establishing a permanent crewed base on the Moon.[30]

In 2021, Firefly Aerospace received a NASA contract that was valued at US$93 million to conduct lunar landings for NASA.[31]

See also

Other commercial lunar lander programs
Lunar lander programs by country

References

  1. ↑ Aria Alamalhodaei (6 November 2023). "Firefly's Blue Ghost lander represents a big bet on a future lunar economy". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/06/fireflys-blue-ghost-lander-represents-a-big-bet-on-a-future-lunar-economy/. 
  2. ↑ "Blue Ghost Mission 1 (Firefly)". NASA NSSDCA. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=BLUEGHOST. 
  3. ↑ Stuart (2024-11-18). "To The Moon and Back: VA Tech Alumnus Prepares for Blue Ghost Mission One" (in en-US). https://www.theroanokestar.com/2024/11/18/to-the-moon-and-back-va-tech-alumnus-prepares-for-blue-ghost-mission-one/. 
  4. ↑ "NASA Invites Media to Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1 Launch to Moon - NASA" (in en-US). https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-invites-media-to-firefly-blue-ghost-mission-1-launch-to-moon/?utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=NASAArtemis&utm_campaign=NASASocial&linkId=667907586. 
  5. ↑ @Firefly_Space (7 January 2025). "Buckle up! Our road trip to the Moon is set to launch at 1:11 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 15". https://twitter.com/Firefly_Space/status/1876641220845244788. 
  6. ↑ "Firefly's Blue Ghost becomes second private spacecraft with moon landing" (in en-GB). 2025-03-02. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9208qv1kzo. 
  7. ↑ chris (2021-05-20). "Firefly Aerospace Awards Contract to SpaceX to Launch Blue Ghost Mission to Moon in 2023" (in en-US). https://fireflyspace.com/news/firefly-aerospace-awards-contract-to-spacex-to-launch-blue-ghost-mission-to-moon-in-2023/. 
  8. ↑ "Hawthorne-based rocket company to move to Texas". 2014-09-11. https://www.dailybreeze.com/2014/09/11/hawthorne-based-rocket-company-to-move-to-texas/. 
  9. ↑ "Firefly Space Systems charges full speed toward low Earth orbit". 2014-11-18. https://arstechnica.com/science/2014/11/firefly-space-systems-charges-full-speed-toward-low-earth-orbit/. 
  10. ↑ "Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Lunar Lander is Assembled". 16 October 2023. https://compositesmanufacturingmagazine.com/2023/10/firefly-aerospaces-blue-ghost-lunar-lander-is-assembled/. 
  11. ↑ "Firefly's Blue Ghost lander successfully touches down on the moon" (in en). 2025-03-02. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/01/science/blue-ghost-mission-moon-landing/index.html. 
  12. ↑ "NASA Announces New Partnerships for Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Services". NASA. November 29, 2018. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-announces-new-partnerships-for-commercial-lunar-payload-delivery-services. 
  13. ↑ Parsonson, Andrew (3 March 2025). "Nammo UK Engine Powers First Successful Commercial Lunar Landing". https://europeanspaceflight.com/nammo-uk-engine-powers-first-successful-commercial-lunar-landing/. 
  14. ↑ "LEROS 4 Interplanetary Engine". Nammo. https://www.nammo.com/product/leros-4/. 
  15. ↑ "Blue Ghost Mission 1". Firefly. https://fireflyspace.com/missions/blue-ghost-mission-1/. 
  16. ↑ "NASA awards launch contract to SpaceX and orders a lunar lander from Firefly". 2025-03-06. https://www.seradata.com/nasa-awards-launch-contract-to-spacex-and-orders-a-lunar-lander-from-firefly/. 
  17. ↑ Nicioli, Taylor (2025-02-01). "Blue Ghost lunar lander is documenting its journey to the moon. The views are breathtaking" (in en). https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/01/science/blue-ghost-moon-eclipse-pictures/index.html. 
  18. ↑ "Blue Ghost Mission 2" (in en-US). https://fireflyspace.com/missions/blue-ghost-mission-2/. 
  19. ↑ "Firefly to take Lunar Pathfinder to the Moon" (in en). https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Firefly_to_take_Lunar_Pathfinder_to_the_Moon. 
  20. ↑ https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5937&context=smallsat
  21. ↑ https://fireflyspace.com/news/firefly-aerospace-adds-uaes-rashid-2-rover-to-blue-ghost-mission-to-the-far-side-of-the-moon/
  22. ↑ "More NASA Science, Tech will Fly to Moon Aboard Future Firefly Flight - NASA" (in en-US). https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/more-nasa-science-tech-will-fly-to-moon-aboard-future-firefly-flight/. 
  23. ↑ "Blue Ghost Mission 3". https://fireflyspace.com/missions/blue-ghost-mission-3/. 
  24. ↑ "CLPS Flight: Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 3 - NASA". https://www.nasa.gov/event/clps-flight-firefly-aerospaces-blue-ghost-mission-3/. 
  25. ↑ "LunarVISE". https://www.ucf.edu/research/lunarvise/. 
  26. ↑ Doyle, Tiernan P. (29 July 2025). "NASA Selects Firefly for New Artemis Science, Tech Delivery to Moon". NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-selects-firefly-for-new-artemis-science-tech-delivery-to-moon/. 
  27. ↑ "Blue Ghost Mission 4". Firefly Aerospace. 29 July 2025. https://fireflyspace.com/missions/blue-ghost-mission-4/. 
  28. ↑ Rabie, Passant (4 September 2025). "Canada's First Moon Mission to Fly Aboard Firefly Spacecraft". Gizmodo. https://gizmodo.com/canadas-first-moon-mission-to-fly-aboard-firefly-spacecraft-2000653504. 
  29. ↑ "Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q". Firefly Aerospace Inc.. September 22, 2025. https://investors.fireflyspace.com/node/7616/html. 
  30. ↑ "Overview of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program" (in en-US). 2024-01-08. https://newspaceeconomy.ca/2024/01/08/overview-of-nasas-commercial-lunar-payload-services-program/. 
  31. ↑ "NASA Selects Firefly Aerospace for Artemis Commercial Moon Delivery in 2023 - NASA" (in en-US). https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-selects-firefly-aerospace-for-artemis-commercial-moon-delivery-in-2023/. 



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