Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander, the first private spacecraft to achieve a fully successful moon landing, ceased operations over the weekend after a 14-day mission, as lunar sunset cut power to its solar panels. The Texas-based company confirmed Monday that all 10 NASA experiments aboard functioned as intended, marking a triumph for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.

Launched January 15 from Cape Canaveral atop a SpaceX Falcon 9, Blue Ghost touched down upright on March 2 in Mare Crisium, a volcanic basin on the moon’s northeastern near side. “Mission completed,” CEO Jason Kim posted on X late Sunday, adding, “The Ghost lives on in our hearts for the journey it’s taken us on!” The lander operated five hours into the lunar night before shutting down, with images of the lunar sunset—capturing dust glow first noted by Apollo 17’s Eugene Cernan—set for release Tuesday.

Carrying drills, vacuums, and cameras, Blue Ghost tested technologies like the Electrodynamic Dust Shield and Lunar PlanetVac, while observing a solar eclipse from the moon last week. Firefly’s feat outshone recent private attempts: Intuitive Machines’ latest lander tipped over near the south pole this month, and its 2024 mission faltered post-landing. Japan’s ispace, co-launched with Blue Ghost, aims for a June touchdown after a slower trajectory.

As the first private entity to nail a lunar landing—joining five nations (U.S., Russia, China, India, Japan)—Firefly plans annual missions, with Blue Ghost Mission 2 targeting the far side in 2026. “This sets the bar for commercial cislunar exploration,” Kim said, eyeing a growing lunar economy fueled by NASA’s Artemis goals.