Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost, a 6½-foot-tall robotic moon lander, is set to launch later this year aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral.

This mission, part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, will carry scientific instruments to the Moon’s Mare Crisium basin.

Currently undergoing environmental testing at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Blue Ghost is expected to gather critical data for future human missions.

The lander is designed to operate for one lunar day, about 14 Earth days, Florida Today has reported.

Firefly is also planning a second mission to the Moon’s far side in 2026.

Written by B.C. Begley