Overview

• Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander is scheduled to launch on January 15th at 1:11 AM EST aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
• The lander will carry 10 NASA payloads designed to study the Moon's surface, including regolith analysis, solar cell testing, and neutron radiation characterization.
• The mission will target Mons Latreille, a volcanic feature within the Moon's Mare Crisium basin, and aims to operate on the lunar surface for 14 days after a 45-day journey.
• The Blue Ghost mission is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which seeks to foster private-sector involvement in lunar exploration under the broader Artemis campaign.
• This marks Firefly's first lunar mission and follows mixed results from previous CLPS missions, including a partial success by Intuitive Machines in 2024.