Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander has successfully landed on the moon.
This event marks major milestone in private space exploration.
As per Sky News, Blue Ghost lander which is about the size of a compact car and has four legs, is carrying 10 scientific instruments.
It used 21 thrusters to navigate and land near an ancient volcanic vent in Mare Crisium which is a large basin located in the northeastern part of the moon’s side that faces Earth.
Blue Ghost lander carries several scientific tools, including a vacuum to collect lunar soil for analysis and a drill capable of measuring temperatures up to 10 feet deep.
It also carries a device designed to remove lunar dust, which was a problem for NASA’s Apollo astronauts, as it stuck to their spacesuits and equipment.
The scientific demonstrations on the Blue Ghost lander are expected to last for about two weeks before lunar daytime ends, after which the lander will shut down.
Firefly Aerospace launched in mid January has achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first private company to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon without crashing or tipping over.
Firefly Aerospace is now the second private company to achieve a successful soft landing on the moon.
The first was Houston-based Intuitive Machines, whose Odysseus lander made a slightly tilted but controlled landing last year.
