Blue Ghost and Resilience

Two private lunar landers, Blue Ghost and Resilience, have just been launched into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on January 15, 2025. Built by Firefly Aerospace and the Tokyo-based ispace, respectively, both landers are on ambitious missions to explore the moon. However, their journeys will be far from straightforward, with long, complex paths ahead before they touch down on the lunar surface. Here’s a breakdown of what the two landers will be doing in the coming weeks and months.

Blue Ghost:

A 25-Day Earth Orbit Before Heading to the Moon

Blue Ghost, Firefly Aerospace's first lunar lander, is set for a detailed series of operations before it attempts to land on the moon. For the first 25 days after launch, Blue Ghost will orbit Earth, where it will undergo numerous systems checks and begin gathering data using its 10 science and technology instruments. These instruments, many provided by NASA, are part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

Once this critical check-out period is completed, Blue Ghost will conduct an engine burn to set it on course for the moon. The lander will reach lunar orbit after four days, where it will spend 16 days studying the moon. Its final destination is Mare Crisium ("Sea of Crises") on the moon’s nearside, where Blue Ghost will attempt to make a soft landing.

The solar-powered Blue Ghost is expected to operate for a lunar day, about two Earth weeks, once on the moon’s surface. During this time, the lander will complete its scientific mission and capture imagery of the lunar sunset. It will also provide key data on the behavior of lunar regolith under the influence of solar conditions during the transition to lunar dusk. After this, Blue Ghost will continue operations into the lunar night for several hours.

Resilience:

A Long Journey with Multiple Milestones

In contrast, Resilience, the lunar lander built by ispace, will take a significantly longer route to the moon. Designed for an energy-efficient path, Resilience will take about four months to reach lunar orbit, with several critical milestones along the way. One of the first of these milestones is a lunar flyby, expected to take place in about a month.

Once in lunar orbit, Resilience will spend around two weeks conducting further operations and preparations before its final landing attempt in Mare Frigoris, the "Sea of Cold," located in the moon’s northern hemisphere. If successful, this landing will mark a major achievement for ispace, as this is the company's second attempt to land on the moon. Their first lander, which reached lunar orbit in March 2023, unfortunately crashed during its descent a month later due to a failure in processing visual data.

Resilience's Payloads:

Science, Technology, and Art

Resilience is carrying five science and technology payloads, developed by commercial and academic partners. One of the standout payloads is Tenacious, a 11-pound (5-kilogram) microrover developed by ispace's Luxembourg-based subsidiary. This rover will collect lunar regolith as part of a contract with NASA, contributing valuable data for future lunar exploration.

Additionally, Resilience is carrying something unique: Moonhouse, a small red-and-white model house created by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg. This piece of art adds a cultural dimension to the mission, alongside the scientific and technological objectives.

A Historical Context:

Private Moon Landings

The success of Blue Ghost and Resilience would mark important milestones in the history of private lunar exploration. Currently, only one private spacecraft has successfully landed on the moon—Intuitive Machines' Odysseus—which achieved this feat in February 2024. Should Blue Ghost and Resilience succeed in their respective missions, they would join this elite group, further proving the growing capabilities of private companies in space exploration.

As the missions of these two landers unfold over the next few months, they will contribute to our understanding of the moon, potentially paving the way for future lunar exploration and even human missions to Earth's celestial neighbor.