Two lunar landers, one American and one Japanese, launched early this morning aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A. Despite sharing a ride, the missions are independent, with each spacecraft charting a unique course to the Moon.
Liftoff of Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 and ispace’s SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon, Kennedy Space Center, FL, January 15, 2025. Credit: SpaceX
The U.S.-built Blue Ghost Mission 1, developed by Firefly Aerospace, is scheduled to land on March 2, while Japan’s SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon, created by ispace, will arrive later, targeting late May or early June.
The Falcon 9 lifted off at 1:11:39 a.m. ET. Blue Ghost separated from the rocket’s second stage approximately an hour after launch, followed by Venture Moon 27 minutes later.
Blue Ghost’s Mission: Advancing NASA’s Lunar Goals
Blue Ghost is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, which taps commercial companies to deliver scientific payloads to the Moon. Firefly is carrying 10 NASA payloads to Mare Crisium, including instruments to study lunar dust, subsurface heat flow, and magnetic fields.
The lander will operate for one lunar day (14 Earth days) and aims to achieve a successful soft landing—a milestone yet to be claimed by a CLPS mission. At 2 meters tall and 3.5 meters wide, Blue Ghost is solar-powered and lightweight, designed to operate during daylight hours but not survive the frigid lunar night.
Key NASA payloads aboard include:
Lunar PlanetVac (LPV) and Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) to study and manage lunar dust.
LISTER to drill 2-3 meters below the surface for heat flow measurements.
Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) to test navigation technology.
Venture Moon: Japan’s Resilience in Lunar Exploration
The SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon mission represents ispace’s second lunar attempt following its 2023 HAKUTO-R M1 mission, which failed moments before touchdown. This time, ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada emphasized perseverance, launching a campaign to celebrate embracing challenges under the motto, "Never Quit the Lunar Quest."
Illustration of ispace’s RESILIENCE lander and TENACIOUS rover on the Moon. Credit: ispace
The mission includes the TENACIOUS micro-rover, a lightweight 5-kilogram vehicle equipped with a shovel and HD camera. TENACIOUS will collect lunar samples, which will be sold to NASA under a groundbreaking contract. Alongside, the lander is carrying five commercial payloads, including a food production experiment and a commemorative artistic model called "Moonhouse."
The spacecraft will land near Mare Frigoris, navigating a longer trajectory to arrive in late May or early June.
A New Era in Lunar Exploration
Today’s launch marks a significant step in global lunar exploration, with NASA, private companies, and international partners racing to develop cost-effective lunar landers. Despite challenges faced by earlier missions, both Firefly and iSpace aim to set new benchmarks with successful landings and groundbreaking science.
The journey to the Moon continues to inspire innovation and determination, promising a new chapter in humanity’s quest to explore and understand Earth’s celestial neighbour.
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