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Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost
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Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost
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. It successfully landed on the Moon on March 2, 2025. The landers are named after the firefly species Phausis reticulata, known as blue ghosts.
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.
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.
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. As of August 18, 2025[update] NASA has awarded Firefly task orders for four lunar landing missions.
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. The engine uses MON and hydrazine as propellants. 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. 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.
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. 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.
The second Blue Ghost mission is scheduled for launch in 2026. Both the lander and the Lunar Pathfinder spacecraft will be deployed into lunar orbit by an Elytra orbital transfer vehicle. 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. Firefly also intends to use this mission to deliver the Rashid 2 rover to the surface.
A third Blue Ghost mission is planned for 2028. The mission plan includes a rover, with a landing near the Mons Gruithuisen Gamma lunar dome. Instruments from the Lunar-VISE project at University of Central Florida will be included on the lander and rover.
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Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost
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. It successfully landed on the Moon on March 2, 2025. The landers are named after the firefly species Phausis reticulata, known as blue ghosts.
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.
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.
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. As of August 18, 2025[update] NASA has awarded Firefly task orders for four lunar landing missions.
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. The engine uses MON and hydrazine as propellants. 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. 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.
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. 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.
The second Blue Ghost mission is scheduled for launch in 2026. Both the lander and the Lunar Pathfinder spacecraft will be deployed into lunar orbit by an Elytra orbital transfer vehicle. 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. Firefly also intends to use this mission to deliver the Rashid 2 rover to the surface.
A third Blue Ghost mission is planned for 2028. The mission plan includes a rover, with a landing near the Mons Gruithuisen Gamma lunar dome. Instruments from the Lunar-VISE project at University of Central Florida will be included on the lander and rover.
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