The first privately owned lunar module to successfully complete its mission on the Moon has ceased operations.
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander went silent over the weekend, completing two weeks of NASA science research.
This happened when the sun set behind the moon, and the module's solar panels stopped receiving solar energy.
“Mission accomplished,” commented Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly, on social media platform X. “But Ghost will always remain in our hearts and minds, remembering the journey it took us on!”
The lander operated for five hours on the lunar night as planned before shutting down Sunday evening. Photos of the moonset and glow will be released on Tuesday, Mr Kim said.
Blue Ghost was launched from Cape Canaveral in January as part of NASA's Commercial Moon Resupply Program. It landed on the far northeastern edge of the moon on March 2.
Its cargo included a drill, a vacuum cleaner and other scientific and engineering tools for NASA. Firefly confirmed Monday that all 10 experiments were successful.
Late last week, Blue Ghost observed a total solar eclipse from the Moon—a total lunar eclipse visible from Earth.
Texas-based Firefly has become the first private company to successfully land on the moon without crashing or failing, after a series of failed attempts by other companies in recent years.
Only five countries – the United States, Russia, China, India and Japan – have managed to land successfully.
The company's Japanese lunar lander shared the flight of the SpaceX rocket but traveled an even longer distance to reach the moon. The lander is scheduled to land in early June.
Another Texas company, Intuitive Machines, ended up in a crater near the moon's south pole earlier this month, threatening the entire mission.
It was the second failed mission for Intuitive Machines. Their first lander returned the US to the moon last year for the first time since Apollo, after a failed landing that hampered communications.
Firefly is already developing its next lunar lander and aims to complete one lunar landing per year.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
