Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1, named Ghost Riders in the Sky will deliver 10 science and technology instruments to the lunar surface as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.

Upon launching on January 15, Blue Ghost is spending approximately 45 days traveling to the Moon, allowing ample time to conduct health checks on each subsystem and begin payload science. Blue Ghost is set to land in Mare Crisium on March 2 and operate payloads for a complete lunar day (about 14 Earth days). On March 14, Firefly expects to capture high-definition imagery of a total eclipse when the Earth blocks the sun above the Moon’s horizon. Blue Ghost will then capture the lunar sunset on March 16, providing data on how lunar dust levitates due to solar influences and creates a lunar horizon glow first documented by Eugene Cernan on Apollo 17. Following sunset, Blue Ghost will operate several hours into the lunar night. Blue Ghost Mission 1 launched on January 15 and has nearly completed its 45-day Earth to Moon transit ahead of landing on March 2. As Blue Ghost continues its journey to the Moon, follow along with Firefly’s mission updates along the way and stay tuned for the joint Firefly and NASA landing livestream, scheduled to begin at 1:20 a.m. CST, approximately 75 minutes ahead of touchdown on the Moon.