Firefly Aerospace Lands First Private Spacecraft on the Moon

What Happened?

On Sunday, Firefly Aerospace’s “Blue Ghost” spacecraft became the first privately operated vessel to land successfully on the surface of the moon. 

The lander successfully touched down on the Sea of Crises, which is located on the northeastern section of the moon as seen from Earth. 

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Firefly Aerospace’s historic moment elicited cheers from the assembled team in the company’s control room.

Former NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin posted a message to social media saying, “Congratulations Firefly Aerospace for Blue Ghost’s Mission 1 successful moon landing today.” 

Why it Matters

Firefly CEO Jason Kim issued a statement saying “Moon landings used to cost billions of dollars and this is Firefly Aerospace that’s gonna land on the moon at a fraction of the price.” Indeed, the Blue Ghost craft carried at least ten scientific experiments for NASA, which paid Firefly Aerospace $101 million dollars according to public records. 

The project is part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative at NASA, which is designed to encourage private sector growth in the commercial space industry. 

The larger purpose of Blue Ghost’s mission was articulated by a NASA spokesman. Nicky Fox, director of space science at NASA said, “Before we can send our humans back to the moon, we are sending a lot of science and a lot of technology ahead of time to prepare for that.” 

According to The Space Foundation, the commercial space industry is now valued at more than $570 billion globally each year. That number is expected to reach nearly one trillion dollars by 2030. 

The World Economic Forum calculated an even more aggressive growth trajectory, estimating that by 2035 the commercial space sector will be worth $1.8 trillion annually.

The growth is expected to come from an increasing range of beneficiaries and sectors that will be able to leverage commercial space activity. Sebastian Buckup, a member of the executive committee of the World Economic Forum, said “space technologies are delivering greater value to a more diverse set of stakeholders than ever before.” 

While space can provide better weather forecasts and more accurate positioning for devices, experiments can be conducted in microgravity that can’t be duplicated on earth. Those types of experiments could lead to the development of new materials and medicines that can’t be created on Earth. 

How it Affects You

As the commercial space industry continues its rapid growth, the impact of private sector space endeavors will grow beyond space itself. 

The number of people on Earth able to communicate from anywhere on the globe or utilize services provided by the commercial space sector will continue to increase in the next ten years.