Two Lunar Missions Launch from Kennedy Space Center: Firefly and ispace
Firefly’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s lander have successfully launched, marking a significant step in lunar exploration.
Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA, Firefly Aerospace, ispace, Lunar Missions
Cape Canaveral: Early Wednesday morning, the sky lit up as a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off. This launch was special because it carried two lunar landers, one from ispace and the other from Firefly Aerospace.
The ispace lander, called RESILIENCE, and Firefly’s Blue Ghost are both on board, ready to head to the moon. Blue Ghost is carrying ten science and tech payloads for NASA, which is pretty exciting!
Once they’re in orbit, Blue Ghost will be the first to head out, followed by RESILIENCE. Julianna Scheiman from NASA said this mission is a big step toward making life on other planets a reality.
Now, about the name Blue Ghost. It’s named after a rare firefly species, which is a cool touch. Firefly’s mission is called Ghost Riders in the Sky, and they’re trying to create an image of a highway to the moon with it.
Firefly got this mission contract from NASA back in 2021. They were chosen because of their payload capacity, which is crucial for these kinds of missions.
This launch is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which aims to use private landers to send science payloads to the moon. The data collected will help NASA learn more about the moon and improve future spacecraft designs.
Blue Ghost is set to land in March 2025 at the Mare Crisium crater. It’s a bit bigger than a car, measuring about 6.6 feet tall and 11.5 feet wide. Firefly has done a lot of testing to ensure it can handle the landing safely.
Once Blue Ghost separates from the Falcon 9, it will start sending back health data and payload information during its 45-day journey to the moon. The mission is designed to be efficient, saving fuel while allowing for plenty of observations along the way.
One of the payloads, called LuGRE, is testing a future navigation system for the moon. It will collect data from both Earth and the lunar surface, which is pretty innovative.
There are also experiments to study lunar conditions and even tackle the issue of moon dust, which was a problem during the Apollo missions. Dust can affect both instruments and astronaut health, so this is a big deal.
After landing, Blue Ghost will have just 14 days of sunlight to gather data. The payloads include various experiments aimed at understanding the moon better and ensuring future missions are safe.
Jason Kim, Firefly’s CEO, expressed how honored they are to contribute to lunar exploration. Meanwhile, ispace’s RESILIENCE lander is also on its way, aiming to deploy a micro rover and collect samples.
For the latest updates from the Space Coast, check out the FLORIDA TODAY Space Team online!
Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Reach her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: NASA science: Firefly Blue Ghost lander launches from Florida to moon.