From liftoff to landing, Firefly will provide regular mission updates all along the way to the Moon. Visit Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 webpage for more mission details and Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 Flickr album for imagery and b-roll.
LUNAR TRANSIT OPERATIONS
February 10, 2025: RadPC, LMS, and LPV Payload Operations
Blue Ghost has already downlinked nearly 13 GB of data during our journey to the Moon, including some incredible payload science for NASA. The latest payload successes include radiation tolerant computing through the Van Allen Belts with Montana State University’s RadPC, measuring changes in the magnetic field with the Southwest Research Institute’s Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS), and ongoing health checks for Honeybee Robotics’ Lunar PlanetVac (LPV).
Since launching on January 15, Blue Ghost has performed dozens of health tests, and all 10 NASA payloads onboard remain healthy and ready for surface operations on the Moon. Learn more on the NASA Artemis blog.
February 9, 2025: Trajectory Correction Maneuver Complete
Following Trans Lunar Injection, Blue Ghost successfully performed a Trajectory Correction Maneuver to help keep us on course during our transit to the Moon.
February 8, 2025: Trans Lunar Injection Complete
Blue Ghost successfully performed a Trans Lunar Injection burn to escape Earth’s gravitational pull and begin a 4-day transit to the Moon’s orbit. We’ll then spend approximately 16 days in lunar orbit before we begin Blue Ghost’s descent. This gives Firefly plenty of time to calibrate our navigation system and continue payload science operations for NASA.
EARTH ORBIT OPERATIONS
February 7, 2025: Blue Ghost Captures Australia
Blue Ghost captures another Earth image – this time showing Australia – during our final days in Earth orbit.
February 6, 2025: Week 3 Mission Operations Update
Three weeks into Firefly’s mission, and Blue Ghost has already downlinked more than 11 GB of data. In our week three recap, the Firefly team gives an overview of our upcoming Trans Lunar Injection burn and shares how we strive to encourage the next generation to dream big!
February 3, 2025: Blue Ghost Captures Earth Selfie
T-5 days until Blue Ghost says goodbye to Earth! With the accuracy Firefly achieved on our first two engine burns, we were able to skip the third Earth orbit maneuver. Blue Ghost is already in a good position to perform our trans-lunar injection in just under a week. The Firefly team continues to capture some incredible shots of our home planet along the way.
January 31, 2025: Blue Ghost Captures Earth Eclipsing the Moon
Blue Ghost captured an amazing view of Earth eclipsing the Moon as the lander continues to travel on orbit.
January 30, 2025: SCALPSS Payload Operations
The Firefly team completed test runs of the SCALPSS payload onboard Blue Ghost. Developed by the NASA Langley Research Center, SCALPSS will observe the effects of engine plumes on lunar regolith when Blue Ghost touches down on the Moon. The test images captured during transit demonstrate the hardware is functioning well and is capable of collecting images of plume-surface interactions upon lunar touchdown. Learn more on the NASA Artemis blog.
January 30, 2025: Week 2 Mission Operations Update
Two weeks into Firefly’s mission, and Blue Ghost has already clocked 715,000 miles and downlinked more than 7 GB of data. In our week two recap, the Firefly mission operations team provides an overview of our orbital mechanics and thermal dynamics and explains why Blue Ghost is taking a scenic route to the Moon.
January 28, 2025: LEXI Payload Calibration
The Firefly team began calibrating the LEXI X-ray imager to maximize its performance levels and prepare for operations on the lunar surface. Developed by Boston University, NASA, and John Hopkins, LEXI will be calibrated daily until we land on the Moon. The payload will then capture a series of X-ray images to study the interaction of solar wind and the Earth’s magnetic field that drives geomagnetic disturbances and storms on our home planet.
January 27, 2025: First Moon Image
While in Earth orbit, Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander captured our first images of the Moon.
January 24, 2025: Second Engine Burn
Firefly captured the beauty of our home planet during another Earth orbit burn. This second engine burn (and first critical burn) adjusted Blue Ghost’s apogee (the furthest point from Earth) using our Spectre RCS thrusters. With just over two weeks left in Earth orbit before our Trans Lunar Injection, the Firefly team will continue operating our NASA payloads onboard and capturing science data along the way.
January 23, 2025: Week 1 Mission Operations Update
Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander is one week into our road trip to the Moon! Hear directly from the Firefly team on the milestones we’ve achieved this past week.
January 21, 2025: New LuGRE Payload Milestone
Jointly developed by NASA and the Italian Space Agency, the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) payload acquired signal from the Earth-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) at a record-breaking distance of 205,674 miles. This step towards establishing a navigation solution to the Moon marks another successful milestone for Firefly’s payload partners traveling aboard Blue Ghost. Learn more about the achievement on NASA’s Artemis blog.
January 21, 2025: Earth Eclipse Captured
Blue Ghost captured Earth eclipsing the Sun from Blue Ghost’s top deck. This timelapse is another incredible postcard moment on our trip to the Moon.
January 20, 2025: Ongoing Data Downlinks
Firefly is five days into the Ghost Riders in the Sky mission, and Blue Ghost has traveled 22,000 miles while downlinking 1.4 GB of data thus far. While there’s still a long road ahead, the team has already accomplished several critical milestones on the way to the Moon.
January 18, 2025: First Engine Burn
Big win for the Ghost Riders! The Firefly team successfully completed Blue Ghost’s first burn with our RCS thrusters and main engine, hitting within 2 mm/s of our target delta V on the first try. This burn increased the lander’s perigee (the closest point to Earth) and gets us ready for our next critical maneuver. Take a look at these engines firing with invisible plumes in the vacuum of space.
January 17, 2025: Bi-Propellant Priming Complete
Blue Ghost’s fluid and propulsion systems are now primed up. This bi-propellant priming process distributes our fuel and oxidizer to the engines, getting them ready for our first burn in a couple days. Although not vital to the mission, this first burn will help calibrate Blue Ghost’s propulsion system ahead of a critical burn next week that will raise our Earth orbit apogee and get us closer to the Moon.
January 16, 2025: LuGRE Payload Science Operations
All NASA payloads remain healthy. Six NASA payloads onboard Blue Ghost, including RadPC, SCALPSS, LPV, LISTER, LuGRE, and EDS are already sending initial data back to Earth. LuGRE science operations have also begun. Developed by the Italian Space Agency, LuGRE is tracking signals from GPS and Galileo satellites during our Earth to Moon transit to test signal acquisition and usage along the way.
January 15, 2025: First On-Orbit Image
Firefly’s Blue Ghost captured its first image from space! The top deck of the lander is visible with the X-band antenna and NASA’s LEXI payload.
January 15, 2025: On-Orbit Payload Science Begins
The Firefly team completed initial NASA payload checkouts and powered on Montana State University’s RadPC to begin measuring the radiation and fault tolerant computing system. This is the first of many payload data sets Blue Ghost will capture on Firefly’s journey to the Moon.
ON-ORBIT COMMISSIONING
January 15, 2025: On-Orbit Spacecraft Commissioning Complete
On-orbit spacecraft commissioning was completed by 5:30 a.m. EST, which included verifying attitude determination and control capabilities, increasing the data transfer rate, establishing a power-positive attitude, and completing initial lander health checks. Read the press release for more details.
January 15, 2025: Blue Ghost Signal Acquistion
Firefly’s Mission Operations Center in Cedar Park, Texas, acquired signal from the Blue Ghost lunar lander at 2:26 a.m. EST. The team will now begin initial Blue Ghost health checks as part of on-orbit commissioning.
LAUNCH OPERATIONS
January 15, 2025: Launch Vehicle Separation
Blue Ghost was deployed in a highly elliptical Earth orbit at 2:17 a.m. EST. The Firefly team expects to acquire signal to the lander within the next 30 minutes.
January 15, 2025: Liftoff
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center launch complex 39A at 1:11 am EST, and Blue Ghost is on its way to orbit!
PRE-LAUNCH OPERATIONS
January 14, 2025: Rocket Mating & Rollout
The encapsulated fairing has been mated to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and transported to the launch pad ahead of liftoff scheduled for 1:11 am EST on January 15.
January 10, 2025: Fairing Encapsulation
Blue Ghost was safely encapsulated in the Falcon 9 fairing.
January 9, 2025: Falcon 9 Integration
All Remove Before Flight tags are off Blue Ghost, and the lander is now securely integrated on the SpaceX Falcon 9 payload attach fitting.
January 8, 2025: Blue Ghost Fueling Complete
Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander was loaded up with an MMH hypergolic propellant and MON-3 oxidizer to power the thrusters and main engine during transit from Earth to Moon.
December 23, 2024: Blue Ghost Battery Charging Complete
All four batteries on Blue Ghost are now fully charged. Firefly will utilize these batteries as needed throughout the mission when sunlight is limited, such as in the lunar morning and lunar night.
December 16, 2024: Blue Ghost Arrives at KSC
Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander arrived at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on December 16. The Firefly team is now working through the pre-launch operations, including final inspections, functional checkouts, battery charging, propellant loading, and integration on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
