First ever landing of a commercial craft on the moon


First ever landing of a commercial craft on the moon

By Daniel Bellamy with AP Published on 02/03/2025 - 10:27 GMT+1 A lunar lander run by the private company Firefly Aerospace and carrying equipment for NASA touched down on the moon on Sunday, in an historic first. Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander carried a drill, vacuum and other experiments for NASA to the moon on Sunday, the latest in a string of companies looking to kickstart business on Earth's celestial neighbor ahead of astronaut missions. The lander descended from lunar orbit on autopilot, aiming for the slopes of an ancient volcanic dome in an impact basin on the moon’s northeastern edge of the near side. Confirmation of successful touchdown came from the company's Mission Control outside Austin, Texas, following the action some 360,000 kilometers away.