First private spacecraft lands on the Moon!
A private spacecraft Blue Ghost, built by an American company named Firefly Aerospace, landed on the Moon last Sunday! This is a big moment in history because no private company has done this before
Last year, another private spacecraft, Odysseus, also landed on the Moon. But it fell over and broke some parts, so the mission did not last long.
Blue Ghost carried with it several NASA experiments because it is part of NASA’s CLPS initiative.
What is NASA’s CLPS initiative?
NASA has a program called Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS). In this program, NASA works with private companies to send experiments and machines to the Moon.
This is part of NASA’s bigger Artemis mission, which will send the first woman and the first person of colour to the Moon in 2026.
What will Blue Ghost do on the Moon?
Blue Ghost landed in a place called Mare Crisium, a big volcanic area near the Moon’s equator. It carries 10 NASA experiments that will:
- Check the Moon’s heat
- Collect Moon rocks and soil
- Take pictures of the March 14th total eclipse
- Study how Earth’s magnetic field changes because of solar winds
These experiments will run for 14 Earth days (one lunar day) before the Moon’s night starts.
Why are private companies exploring space?
Governments want private companies to help explore space because competition helps create better and cheaper technology.
For example, SpaceX has made reusable rockets, which have lowered the cost of space missions. Companies like New Shepard and Virgin Galactic are also working on space travel for tourists!
Because of private companies, NASA and other agencies can focus their time and efforts on space research instead.
Are there any problems with private space missions?
Private companies want to make money, but scientists want to discover new things. This means private companies may only work on short-term projects.
For example, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, which has made over 21,000 discoveries since 1990, was only possible because of public money.
While private companies can help the space industry, we must make sure science, not profit, decides the future of space science!