A privately funded space craft has become the second ever to land on the Moon – and it took a stunning selfie with Earth.
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander touched down at 8.34am GMT yesterday, after a 46-day journey of more than 4.5million kilometres.
The craft landed near Mons Latreille – a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon’s north-eastern near side.
Following a nervous wait Firefly’s 750 workers in Austin, Texas, cheered as the US firm’s CEO, Jason Kim, confirmed that the spacecraft had reached its destination ‘stable and upright’.
Reacting to the triumph Mr Kim said: ‘We got some Moon dust on our boots … Firefly is literally and figuratively over the Moon’.
The first image from Blue Ghost showed the rough terrain it had to navigate in its final descent, reducing its speed down from thousands of miles an hour to just two mph.
Another stunning picture shows it floating through space above the glowing Earth.
During the first private lunar landing last year the lander toppled over – putting a damper on what was the first US Moon touchdown since the Apollo 17 mission of 1972.
Ray Allensworth, Blue Ghost’s programme manager, drew attention to the precision of Blue Ghost’s landing, highlighting that it touched down within 100 metres of its target.
The second-ever privately funded space craft has successfully landed on the Moon – marking a significant milestone for private space travel. Pictured: Planet Earth is reflected on Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost spacecraft’s solar panel
The first image from Blue Ghost showed rough terrain that it had to navigate during its final descent
Following a nervous wait Firefly’s 750 workers in Austin, Texas, cheered as the US firm’s CEO, Jason Kim, confirmed that the spacecraft had reached its destination ‘stable and upright’
The lander is expected to capture high-definition imagery of a total eclipse on March, 14 when Earth blocks the sun from the Moon’s horizon.
The mission is part of a Nasa project that intends to reduce costs and support Artemis, the programme designed to return astronauts to the Moon.
The four-legged lander is the size of a small car and is carrying 10 scientific payloads and used 21 thrusters to navigate touchdown.
It has an on board a vacuum to collect Moon dirt for analysis and a drill to measure temperatures as deep as 10 feet.
Firefly becomes the second private firm to secure a soft Moon landing, after Houston-based Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lander made a lopsided soft touchdown last year.
A ‘soft’ Moon landing is a controlled landing on the Moon, where the craft touches down at a low speed and causes minimal damage to the vehicle.
Pictured: Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander captured footage of the Moon during its third lunar orbit manoeuvre on 24 February 2025
The four-legged lander is the size of a small car and is carrying 10 scientific payloads and used 21 thrusters to navigate touchdown
Only five nations have been successful in soft-landings in the past: The then-Soviet Union, the US, China, India and Japan.
The Blue Ghost lunar lander was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, by a SpaceX Falcon 9 on January 15.
Since leaving Earth Blue Ghost lander has been sending back some stunning images of space.
Last month, the autonomous lander captured a truly jaw-dropping view as it recorded a unique close-up of the Moon.
In an incredible video, you can see the distant Earth rising and setting behind the curve of the lunar surface.
Taken on February 18, the timelapse reveals the stunning view from the Blue Ghost lander as it completed its second orbit, from about 75 miles (120 km) away.
