Nearly 56 years after the first lunar conquest, the United States space agency NASA is set to send a spacecraft to the Moon for commercial purposes. On Wednesday, January 15, NASA’s first commercial spacecraft will depart from Earth toward the Moon.
Named the “Blue Ghost Mission 1,” this mission will carry a robot called “Blue Ghost.” NASA has partnered with the private aerospace company Firefly Aerospace of the United States for this mission. The robot has also been developed by Firefly Aerospace.
On January 15, the Blue Ghost will begin its journey to the Moon aboard a Falcon 8 rocket, developed by SpaceX, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. According to a NASA statement, it will spend approximately 45 days on the lunar surface before returning to Earth.
During these 45 days, the Blue Ghost will conduct at least 10 scientific investigations on behalf of NASA. Each of these investigations will focus on the Moon’s environment and the potential for human habitation there in the future.
Additionally, the mission aims to study how cosmic weather and cosmic energy impact both Earth and the Moon, which is also one of its primary objectives, according to NASA’s statement.
In 1969, NASA successfully achieved its first lunar conquest. That year, three astronauts—Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins—reached the Moon aboard NASA’s Apollo 11 rocket.