A private spacecraft has successfully landed on the Moon for the first time.

Before the "Blue Ghost" lander, a private spacecraft IM-1 had also attempted to land on the Moon. However, upon landing, it overturned, preventing the solar panels from functioning properly, and the mission's standard program was not carried out. Now, Firefly Aerospace has announced the first successful landing of a private spacecraft on Earth's satellite. Although Blue Ghost is conducting a mission for NASA, unlike earlier lunar landers, it is entirely designed and built by private entities—not based on specifications provided by the Agency, but independently.

Weighing nearly half a ton, Blue Ghost touched down near Latreille Peak in the Sea of Crisis around 11:36 Moscow time. It is believed that the peak has volcanic origins, so analyzing soil samples from this area with the lander's instruments could provide new data. At the same time, it is worth noting that lunar volcanic rocks have been analyzed multiple times since the 1970s. Far more scientific data could be obtained by landing near the Moon's south pole; however, achieving that is more challenging than in lower latitudes. Nevertheless, on March 6, another private company will attempt to land there, at Mouton Peak.

The lander is equipped with tools to analyze the adhesion of lunar regolith to various artificial materials. Another instrument, the Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI), will capture images of the interaction between the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere from the lunar surface. Onboard systems will analyze local electric and magnetic fields at the landing site, as well as the thermal flux from the Moon's interior.

By comparing videos and photos of the surface before and after the lander's touchdown, the mission will clarify the impact of the landing exhaust on the landing site. This is considered important for ensuring the safe landing of larger and heavier spacecraft in the future. Another onboard system, the Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS), will attempt to deflect lunar dust using an electric field. Such dust can obstruct the normal functioning of solar panels, cooling radiators, and even spacesuits, so developing measures against it is seen as a vital area of work. Additionally, the spacecraft will attempt to receive GPS signals from the lunar surface, which is technically quite challenging.

Firefly Aerospace received only $93 million from NASA for this mission, which is quite modest by the Agency's standards. Some experts suggest that actively involving private contractors could reduce the U.S. costs for space exploration. However, private companies (with the exception of SpaceX) have struggled with complex missions: there have been several attempts at soft landings, but none have achieved complete success.