For the third time in a year, a commercial lunar lander backed by NASA is on its way to the moon's surface. The spacecraft built and operated by Texas-based Firefly Aerospace launched in the early Monday hours from Florida aboard a SpaceX rocket. Ahead of the lunar lander is a 60-day mission to Earth's only natural satellite, where it will deploy a fleet of NASA's scientific instruments to study the moon's environment before human's return. The $93.3 million mission comes as NASA plans to send humans back to the moon within this decade for the first time since the U.S. space agency's Apollo program came to an end more than 50 years ago. It also follows a mission in February 2024 in which a U.S. company, with NASA as a primary customer, successfully landed its own lander on the moon – marking a historic lunar return. “This mission embodies the bold spirit of NASA’s Artemis campaign – a campaign driven by scientific exploration and discovery,” NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy said in a statement. “Each flight we’re part of is vital step in the larger blueprint to establish a responsible, sustained human presence at the Moon, Mars and beyond." 4 events that dazzled skygazers in 2024, from total solar eclipse to northern lights “The mission is now in the hands of the unstoppable Firefly team," Firefly Aerospace CEO Jason Kim said in a statement. "After all the testing conducted and mission simulations completed, we’re now fully focused on execution as we look to complete our on-orbit operations, softly touch down on the lunar surface, and pave the way for humanity’s return to the moon.” NASA financed lunar landers in 2024 NASA has been preparing to send astronauts back to the moon under its Artemis campaign, its first lunar program since the Apollo missions came to an end in 1972. To pave the way for humanity's lunar return, uncrewed lander's have embarked on moon missions to study Earth's nearest celestial neighbor. In February 2024, a lander built and operated by Houston space company Intuitive Machines made a historic moon landing. The 14-foot-tall Nova-C the lander, nicknamed Odysseus for the hero of Greek myth, touched down Feb. 22, landing in the southernmost location of any lunar craft before it. The lander remained functional for a week, collecting data and photos that were beamed back to Earth. Odysseus' landing not only returned America to the moon for the first time in five decades, but also marked the first time a commercial company built a spacecraft that made it to the lunar surface. The feat followed another company's unsuccessful attempt to land a craft on the moon with several payloads, including NASA instruments. Pittsburgh-based aerospace company Astrobotic Technology had called off its own moon landing attempt in January 2024 when its Peregrine lander began leaking a critical amount of fuel. What is the Firefly mission? Firefly is one of several American companies contracted by NASA for lunar missions in the next few months as part of the government agency's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, or CLPS. In recent years, NASA has shifted to paying private companies for missions it once would carry out itself as a way to cut costs. NASA officials say the 10 instruments being transported to the moon under the Blue Ghost 1 mission is the largest delivery under the CLPS to date. “NASA leads the world in space exploration, and American companies are a critical part of bringing humanity back to the Moon,” Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement. “I am excited to see the incredible science and technological data Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 will deliver in the days to come.” Future missions led by Firefly will be to the moon's far side and will include delivering a satellite that will orbit the region. When will the Firefly spacecraft make it to the moon? The Blue Ghost space craft will attempt a lunar landing on Sunday, March 2 after roughly 45 days orbiting both Earth and the moon itself. The lengthy orbital period will enable mission operators to conduct regular health checks, calibrate the propulsion system for critical maneuvers and begin payload science operations, according to Firefly. During transit, instruments aboard the craft will monitor GPS to extend signals to the lunar surface and will begin testing the on-board computer's ability to withstand radiation while in the vacuum of space. The uncrewed craft will then land near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium – a 300-mile-wide basin in the northeast quadrant of the moon's near side. Firefly's team plans to operate the 10 NASA instruments for a complete lunar day, equivalent to about 14 Earth days. The instruments the lander carries are for things like lunar subsurface drilling, sample collection, X-ray imaging and dust mitigation. The data NASA hopes to collect should also provide insights into how space weather and other cosmic forces effect Earth. The Blue Ghost also plans to capture high-definition imagery of a lunar sunset, as well as a total eclipse just before the frigid lunar night as the Earth blocks the sun. Stay updated on the mission