The Blue Ghost lunar lander, managed by Texas company Firefly Aerospace, touched down Sunday morning on the moon's near side.

Firefly Aerospace has secured a contract for a dedicated Alpha launch that will transport satellites for NASA’s Investigation of Convective Updrafts mission, which studies how and why tropical storms form.

The Blue Ghost touchdown kicks off two weeks of around-the-clock research by NASA science and technology payloads.

The Firefly team is proud to launch another Lockheed Martin mission as we continue to push the limits in achieving a more responsive and resilient future in space,” said Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace.

Firefly’s lunar landing is NASA’s second CLPS mission. The first took place last year, when Intuitive Machines—another Texas-based private space company—sent its lander to the Moon in February 2024. However, the company’s lander toppled over after touching down, limiting aspects of the mission.

With Blue Ghost, Firefly Aerospace became the first commercial company to complete a fully successful moon landing, the company said Sunday.

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost 1 spacecraft made history by becoming the first private space mission to land on the Moon. In doing so, it positions itself as the leading company in

Blue Ghost successfully landed on the moon on Sunday (March 2), touching down in Mare Crisium ("Sea of Crises") — a large impact basin about 345 miles (555 kilometers) wide. The spacecraft sits near a volcanic cone called Mons Latreille within the basin, which is located in the northeast region of the moon's near side.

Firefly Aerospace released video of the Blue Ghost lunar lander as it made its final descent and touched down on the surface of the moon.

Firefly Aerospace made history Sunday as its Blue Ghost lunar lander successfully soft-landed on the moon. Firefly is now the first private entity to put a spacecraft on the moon without it crashing or falling over. The mission, named "Ghost Riders in the Sky," is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.

The Blue Ghost lunar lander privately developed by Firefly Aerospace is carrying a suite of sophisticated instruments to the moon for NASA.

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost landed on the moon at 2:34 a.m. It’s expected to operate for two weeks, conducting NASA science and technology experiments.