emirates7 - More than fifty years after the final Apollo mission, the United States has returned to the lunar surface with its first privately built lander in February. Now, within a single week, two additional private lunar missions are set to touch down, marking a significant step in NASA’s collaboration with industry partners to establish routine Moon landings.

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1

The first of these missions, Blue Ghost Mission 1 by Firefly Aerospace, is scheduled to land on March 6 near Mons Latreille, a volcanic region on the Moon’s northeastern side. The lander, roughly the size of a hippopotamus, carries ten scientific instruments, including equipment to analyze lunar soil and test radiation-resistant computing technology. Designed for a 14-day operational period, Blue Ghost will capture high-definition images of a total lunar eclipse on March 14 and a lunar sunset on March 16, providing valuable data on dust levitation and the Moon’s horizon glow.

Intuitive Machines' IM-2 Mission and Athena Lander

Also targeting March 6, Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission will deploy the Athena lander. Following a previous mishap where its lander tipped over, Intuitive Machines has refined Athena’s design to improve stability. This mission includes several innovative payloads, notably a hopping drone named Grace, which is designed to explore underground lava tunnels. Additionally, Athena carries a drill for detecting ice deposits and three rovers, one of which will test a Nokia cellular network on the Moon.

NASA’s Private Lunar Missions Initiative

These missions are part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, a $2.6 billion initiative aimed at enabling regular private lunar deliveries at a fraction of the cost of traditional space missions. As NASA continues to support these commercial efforts, uncertainty looms over the future of its Artemis lunar program, with growing speculation that Mars exploration may take precedence in the coming years.