A private spacecraft has successfully landed on the Moon, marking a significant milestone as only the second commercial vehicle to reach the lunar surface.

The achievement underscores the growing collaboration between NASA and private companies in space exploration.

The Blue Ghost spacecraft, launched from Earth on January 15 by US firm Firefly Aerospace, was tasked with exploring the Sea of Crises, a vast crater visible from Earth. After orbiting the Moon for two weeks, Blue Ghost made a smooth landing, prompting celebrations at Firefly’s headquarters in Texas.

This mission follows the historic lunar landing by Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus spacecraft on February 22 last year, which made Intuitive the first private company to achieve a Moon landing. However, Odysseus’ mission was cut short after it landed on a crater slope, damaging its landing gear and toppling over.

Intuitive Machines is also preparing for another lunar mission, aiming to land its Athena spacecraft near the Moon’s south pole in the coming days.

Human missions to the Moon have been absent since December 19, 1972, during the Apollo 17 mission. The first private attempt to reach the Moon was made by Astrobotic Technology in January 2024, but their lander failed due to a suspected fuel leak, crashing into the southern Pacific Ocean.