// ORBITAL LOGISTICS AND PROPULSION TERM
Lander
A lander is a spacecraft designed to descend and make a soft landing on the surface of a celestial body, such as a planet or moon.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
A lander is a robotic spacecraft designed to perform a controlled descent and soft landing on the surface of a planetary body, such as a moon or planet, often equipped with instruments for in-situ scientific investigation.
BACKGROUND
Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost, or simply Blue Ghost, is a class of lunar landers designed and manufactured by the American company Firefly Aerospace. Firefly builds and operates Blue Ghost landers to deliver small payloads to the surface of the Moon. The first Blue Ghost mission was launched in January, 2025. It successfully landed on the Moon on March 2, 2025. The landers are named after the firefly species Phausis reticulata, known as blue ghosts.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- Planetary probe
- Surface probe
- Descent vehicle
- Touchdown craft
USAGE NOTE
The Mars Perseverance rover was delivered to the Martian surface by a lander.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Lander.
An American space exploration company that developed the Nova-C lunar lander. In February 2024, their Odysseus lander became the first privately-built spacecraft to perform a soft landing on the Moon.
A private American company developing lunar landers and rovers. They are a contractor for NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, developing the Peregrine and larger Griffin landers.
Designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company's Starship is designed as a fully reusable transportation system capable of landing on both the Moon and Mars and has been selected by NASA for the Artemis program's Human Landing System (HLS).
An aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company founded by Jeff Bezos. It is developing the Blue Moon lander, which was selected by NASA as the second Human Landing System for the Artemis V mission.
Japan's national aerospace and space agency. JAXA successfully landed its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) on the lunar surface in January 2024, demonstrating high-precision landing capabilities.
A Japanese private lunar exploration company developing robotic landers and rovers. Their Hakuto-R Mission 1 attempted a lunar landing in 2023, and they are planning subsequent missions.
An American private aerospace firm developing launch vehicles and in-space services. As part of NASA's CLPS program, Firefly is building the Blue Ghost lander to deliver science and technology payloads to the Moon.
The national space agency of China. CNSA has a highly successful lunar exploration program (Chang'e), which has achieved multiple soft landings on the Moon, including the first-ever on the lunar far side with Chang'e 4 and a sample-return mission with Chang'e 5.
A federally funded research and development center and NASA field center. JPL has managed numerous successful robotic lander missions for NASA, including the Mars Viking, Pathfinder, Phoenix, InSight, and the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, which utilized complex landing systems.