WASHINGTON: A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon on Sunday, marking only the second private mission to achieve the milestone — and the first to do so upright.

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down shortly after 3:34am US Eastern Time (01:34pm PKT) near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon’s northeastern near side.

“Y’all stuck the landing, we’re on the Moon,” an engineer at mission control in Austin, Texas, called out as the team erupted in cheers.

CEO Jason Kim confirmed that the spacecraft was “stable and upright” — in contrast to the first private landing last February, which came down sideways.

“We’re on the Moon!” Nicky Fox, associate administrator for Nasa’s science mission directorate, rejoiced.

The first image from the lander revealed the rocky, pockmarked terrain it had to autonomously navigate in order to select its touchdown spot, having slowed down from thousands of miles per hour to just two mph.

Nicknamed “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” the mission is part of a Nasa-indu­stry partnership aimed at reducing costs.

Designed to operate for a full lunar day (14 Earth days), Blue Ghost is expected to capture high-definition imagery of a total eclipse on March 14, when Earth blocks the Sun from the Moon’s horizon. On March 16, it will record a lunar sunset.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2025