CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A private lander from Firefly Aerospace landed on the moon on Sunday. This lander carries tools for NASA to do experiments. It is part of a group of companies that want to build businesses on the moon before sending astronauts there.
The Blue Ghost lander flew down from space to land safely on the moon. It landed in an old volcanic area.
Engineers said, “We’re on the moon!” after they confirmed the landing from Texas, about 225,000 miles away.
This landing makes Firefly the first private company to land safely on the moon.
About 30 minutes after landing, Blue Ghost sent back its first pictures. One picture was a selfie, and another showed Earth as a small blue dot in space.
Two other landers are getting ready to land soon. The Blue Ghost is wide and strong, which helps it land safely.
This mission is a step towards more private lunar work. NASA wants to send two private landers to the moon each year.
Firefly’s CEO said everything happened as planned. “We got some moon dust on our boots,” he added.
Vocabulary List:
- Lander /ˈlændər/ (noun): A vehicle designed to land on the surface of a celestial body.
- Experiments /ɪkˈspɛrɪmənts/ (noun): Scientific tests done to discover or prove something.
- Volcanic /vɔlˈkænɪk/ (adjective): Relating to or produced by a volcano.
- Mission /ˈmɪʃən/ (noun): An important task or duty assigned to a person or group.
- Confirmed /kənˈfɜːrmd/ (verb): To validate or corroborate a fact or situation.
- Astronauts /ˈæstrəˌnɔːts/ (noun): Trained personnel who travel and work in space.
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