♦ US firm Firefly Aerospace achieved its first successful moon landing with the Blue Ghost spacecraft on 2 March 2025.

♦ It touched down near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the moon’s North-Eastern near side. 

♦ The uncrewed lander, carrying 10 scientific payloads, marks Firefly as the second private company to land on the moon, following Intuitive Machines’ partial success last year (2024).

♦ The spacecraft travelled 2.8 million miles over three loops around Earth before landing, beginning a 14-day research mission powered by solar panels.

♦ The mission precedes the U.S. plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2027.

♦ Five nations have made successful soft landings in the past—the then-Soviet Union, the U.S., China, India, and Japan.