Blue Ghost Lander's 3-Meter Lunar Drill Sparks Explosive Reactions

Rahul Somvanshi

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander drilled into the Moon's surface, sending sparks flying from lunar regolith after touching down on March 2, 2025.

Photo Source - NASA Johnson (CC BY-NC 2.0)

The LISTER drill, digging up to 3 meters deep, collects critical data about the Moon's thermal properties to understand its billion-year evolution from molten rock.

Photo Source - Johnson Space Center (PDM 1.0)

Eight out of ten NASA payloads on the $93.3 million mission have already met their objectives, including soil collection and dust measurement experiments.

Photo Source - ISS National Lab (Flickr)

Blue Ghost faces extreme challenges as lunar temperatures soar to 121°C, forcing the lander to strategically power down systems to protect sensitive equipment.

Photo Source - Stuart Rankin (CC BY-NC 2.0)

The mission will last one full lunar day (14 Earth days) before sunset on March 16 ends the solar-powered lander's operations permanently.

Photo Source - NASA Orion Spacecraft (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Principal investigator Seiichi Nagihara explains these measurements will help "retrace the geological processes that shaped the Moon" from its fiery beginnings.

Photo Source - NASA Johnson (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Firefly became the second private company to reach the Moon but first to achieve a stable, upright landing—unlike earlier missions that tipped over upon arrival.

Photo Source - NASA on the Commons (Flickr)

The data collected supports NASA's Artemis program, laying groundwork for future human missions and potential long-term lunar settlements.

Photo Source - Bruce Irving (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

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