A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has successfully launched two privately developed lunar landers from companies in the United States and Japan, marking another milestone in commercial lunar exploration.
The rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 01:09 local time (06:09 GMT) on Wednesday, carrying the Blue Ghost rover by America’s Firefly Aerospace and the Resilience lander from Japan’s ispace.
After reaching lunar orbit, the two landers will detach and embark on separate missions to explore the Moon’s surface.
Blue Ghost Mission Highlights
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost rover is expected to take approximately 45 days to reach the lunar surface. Once there, it will perform a range of tasks, including drilling, sample collection, and capturing X-ray images of Earth’s magnetic field. These efforts aim to advance scientific research for future human missions on the Moon and offer valuable insights into the impact of space weather on Earth.
Resilience Lander’s Mission
Japan’s ispace-developed Resilience lander will take up to five months to complete its journey to the Moon. Upon arrival, it will deploy a rover to explore the surface and collect loose regolith—a vital resource for lunar exploration.
NASA has lent its support to this groundbreaking mission, which could become its most significant commercial delivery to the Moon to date.
Commercial Space Exploration Milestones
The growing interest in private lunar exploration follows last year’s achievement by Intuitive Machines, which became the first commercial company to land a spacecraft on the Moon. Until then, only the United States, the Soviet Union, China, India, and Japan had accomplished this feat.
Upcoming SpaceX Starship Test
In addition to the lunar missions, SpaceX is preparing for its seventh orbital flight test of the Starship rocket. The test launch is scheduled from Texas at 16:00 local time (22:00 GMT).
