'What are they carrying?': SpaceX and Firefly send ghostly landers to the moon with secret missions
Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
Space Puzzle
Two private moon landers launched by SpaceX are now taking distinct paths toward lunar missions.
Ghost Journey
Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander will orbit Earth for 25 days, conducting systems checks and gathering data with its NASA payloads.
Lunar Burn
Blue Ghost will fire its engines to enter lunar orbit, arriving four days later to prepare for a Mare Crisium landing.
Short Mission
The solar-powered Blue Ghost will function for one lunar day (two Earth weeks) before lunar dusk ends operations.
Critical Data
Firefly will capture images of lunar sunset and study regolith reactions to solar influences, providing new insights.
Circuitous Path
Ispace’s Resilience lander is on a four-month energy-efficient route to the moon, gearing up for a longer mission.
Cultural Payload
Alongside its science gear, Resilience carries a "Moonhouse" model by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg to the lunar surface.
Past Crash
Resilience follows Ispace’s first lander, which reached lunar orbit in 2023 but crashed during its landing attempt.
Scientific Edge
Among Resilience's payloads is the Tenacious microrover, which will collect regolith under a NASA contract.
Milestone Ahead
With its second lander, Ispace seeks to succeed where others failed, aiming for a historic lunar touchdown.