On Wednesday, January 15 at 1:11 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Also on board this mission was ispace’s RESILIENCE lunar lander. Satnews provided these photos.
This was the fifth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-9, RRT-1, and two Starlink missions.
After it deployed into a lunar transfer orbit, the Blue Ghost lander begins its approximate 45-day journey to the Moon, where it will land in Mare Crisium for NASA’s payloads to perform numerous science and technology demonstrations, including lunar subsurface drilling, sample collection, and X-ray imaging of Earth’s magnetic field to advance research for future human missions on the Moon and provide insights into how space weather impacts the planet.
This will be the second attempt for the Tokyo-based ispace, whose first lander crashed into the Moon two years ago. Their RESILIENCE lander will gather up lunar dirt for study with a scoop and will test possible food and water sources for future explorers.
Texas-based Firefly Aerospace is working 10 experiments for NASA, that include a vacuum to gather dirt, a drill to measure the temperature below the surface and a tool that might serve to protect spacesuits to keep sharp, abrasive particles off their spacesuits and equipment.
After its deployment, the ispace RESILIENCE lander begins its 4-5 month journey to the Moon. During their mission, ispace aims to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface, deploy its TENACIOUS Micro Rover, explore the Moon’s surface, and collect regolith.
SpaceX to send Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1 to the moon on Wednesday
SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, January 15 for Falcon 9’s launch of Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 to the Moon from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) in Florida. Also on board this mission is ispace’s RESILIENCE lunar lander. Liftoff is targeted for 1:11 a.m. ET. If needed, a backup opportunity is available on Thursday, January 16 at 1:09 a.m. ET.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about one hour prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.
This will be the fifth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-9, RRT-1, and two Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
Once deployed into a lunar transfer orbit, the Blue Ghost lander will begin its approximate 45-day journey to the Moon, where it will land in Mare Crisium for NASA’s payloads to perform numerous science and technology demonstrations, including lunar subsurface drilling, sample collection, and X-ray imaging of Earth’s magnetic field to advance research for future human missions on the Moon and provide insights into how space weather impacts the planet.
After its deployment, the ispace RESILIENCE lander will begin its 4-5 month journey to the Moon. During their mission, ispace aims to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface, deploy its TENACIOUS Micro Rover, explore the Moon’s surface, and collect regolith.