A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched two private lunar landers from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:11 a.m. EST on January 15, 2025. The landers were Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Resilience, and the launch was part of a commercial lunar mission programme.
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The Falcon 9 was the only rocket used. Its second stage delivered Blue Ghost into a lunar transfer orbit about 65 minutes after launch, and Resilience was deployed about 30 minutes later. The first stage landed on a droneship at sea.
The landers
Blue Ghost, built by Firefly in Texas, was Firefly’s first Moon mission. It was flown under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services programme. It landed on the Moon on March 2, 2025.
Resilience, built by Japanese company ispace, was its second Moon attempt after a 2023 failure. Its landing attempt failed in June 2025, after its laser range-finder malfunctioned, according to ispace.
Upper stage debris
The Falcon 9’s upper stage was left in a high Earth orbit that crosses the Moon’s path. It later struck the Moon, which SpaceX said was unintentional. Reporting we reviewed does not give a precise date for that impact.
Editor’s note: an earlier version of this article said SpaceX launched the landers using Firefly’s own launcher. That was wrong. The launch used a SpaceX Falcon 9. The article has been corrected, and the earlier descriptions of the mission’s goals and the collaboration have been removed.
Sources
- Space.com, SpaceX launches 2 private lunar landers to the moon (15 January 2025): https://space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-launches-2-private-lunar-landers-to-the-moon-photos
- NPR via GPB, 2 private lunar landers head toward the moon in roundabout journey (15 January 2025): https://www.gpb.org/news/2025/01/15/2-private-lunar-landers-head-toward-the-moon-in-roundabout-journey
- ABC Action News (KTRK), Texas-based Firefly’s lunar lander among 2 headed to moon after being launched by SpaceX (15 January 2025): https://abc13.com/amp/post/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-launch-texas-based-firefly-blue-ghost-ispace-resilience-lunar-landers-heading-moon/15802010/
- Space.com, Private Japanese moon lander crashed due to laser errors, ispace says: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/private-japanese-moon-lander-crashed-due-to-laser-errors-ispace-says
- Reuters via The Weather Network, Defunct SpaceX rocket crashes into the moon: https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/science/space/defunct-spacex-rocket-crashes-into-the-moon