On January 15, 2025, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, United States of America (USA) carrying two lunar landers: Blue Ghost as the primary payload and Resilience as the secondary payload.
- The Blue Ghost , named Ghost Riders in the Sky, is led by Firefly Aerospace, headquartered in Texas, USA and the Resilience lunar lander, is spearheaded by Tokyo (Japan)-based ispace Inc.
- The two landers have different timelines for reaching the Moon, with Blue Ghost being deployed first.
About Blue Ghost Mission:
Blue Ghost is expected to take about 45 days to reach the Moon, gradually increasing its orbit around Earth before entering lunar orbit and landing near Mons Latreille, a volcanic feature in Mare Crisium, located on the Moon’s northeast side.
Note:Blue Ghost’s mission, targeting a landing on March 2, 2025, will span 60 days, including approximately 45 days in orbit and 14 days of operations on the lunar surface.
Key payloads onboard include:
- LuGRE (Lunar Global Navigation Satellite System,(GNSS) Receiver Experiment): Monitoring GPS signals to extend navigation capabilities to the Moon.
- RadPC: Demonstrating radiation-tolerant computing during transit.
Key Operations:
i.After landing in Mare Crisium, Blue Ghost will run 10 NASA payloads over a full lunar day (14 Earth days), performing subsurface drilling, sample collection, X-ray imaging, and dust studies.
ii.It will also capture a total lunar eclipse and observe regolith reactions at sunset, with brief operations continuing into the lunar night.
About Resilience Mission:
The Resilience mission focuses on deploying innovative technologies and cultural payloads. Resilience — also known as the Hakuto-R Mission 2 lander. It will land in Mare Frigoris, carrying:
- Tenacious Micro Rover: Built by ispace-Europe, this rover will collect lunar regolith, capture high-definition images, and transmit data to the lander.
- Water Electrolyzer and Food Production Equipment, Deep Space Radiation Probe
- Moonhouse: A symbolic model house designed by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg.
- UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Memory Disk: Preserving linguistic and cultural heritage.
Resilience will take about four to five months to reach the Moon’s Mare Frigoris in the far north.
Points to Note:
i.Both missions are pivotal efforts to advance lunar exploration under National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
iiThese efforts are key milestones in NASA’s goal to develop a lunar economy and support future human exploration under the Artemis program.
iii.Both landers face significant challenges in achieving a successful soft landing on the Moon. They must navigate rocky terrain and craters while relying on thrusters for a controlled descent since there is no atmosphere to use parachutes
About Firefly Aerospace:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)-Jason Kim
Headquarters– Texas, United States of America (USA)
Established– 2014
About ispace Inc:
Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Takeshi Hakamada
Established- 2010
Headquarters- Tokyo, Japan
