Two Private Moon Landers Set for Historic Launch on Wednesday

Firefly Aerospace and ispace aim to deliver scientific payloads to the Moon as part of a growing commercial space exploration push.

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander and ispace's Resilience lander will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on January 15 at 1:11 a.m. ET.
Blue Ghost, part of NASA's CLPS program, will carry 10 scientific instruments to study the Moon's surface, including tools to analyze lunar regolith, solar wind interactions, and the Moon's mantle composition.
Ispace's Resilience lander, following a slower trajectory, will carry private payloads such as a food production experiment, a radiation probe, and a small rover equipped with a high-definition camera and shovel.
The landers aim to explore different lunar regions: Blue Ghost is targeting Mare Crisium, an ancient volcanic plain, while Resilience is set to land in Mare Frigoris, a northern lunar region known as the 'Sea of Cold.'
This marks a pivotal moment in the commercial space industry, with more private lunar missions planned for 2025, including follow-ups from Intuitive Machines and Astrobotic Technology.