Firefly Aerospace announced yesterday that its Blue Ghost spacecraft completed a 3 minute, 18 second burn at 3:09 am, moving the lander from a high elliptical orbit to a much lower elliptical orbit around the Moon.

NASA is currently testing an unpressurized LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle), known as the Ground Test Unit, at Johnson Space Center in Houston. This rover features a flexible architecture that simulates various rover concepts for use beginning with Artemis V.

NASA’s Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle touched down on July 20, 1969 and commander Neil Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon’s surface 6 hours and 39 minutes later. The astronauts actually separated the spacecraft from the Saturn V’s third stage and traveled for three days before entering lunar orbit.

Researchers from the University of Trento have discovered the existence of a Moon cave that could one day be used by astronauts to build a lunar tunnel system. This discovery was made after analyzing radar data collected by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter of the Moon’s Mare Tranquillitatis Pit.

Astrobotic officially unveiled Lunar Surface Proving Ground (LSPG) at its facility in Mojave, CA that mimics the topography and optical properties of the Moon’s surface. This 100mx100m high-fidelity 3D test field will be used to test precise lunar landing technologies like LiDAR scanners, lunar rovers and other robotic systems.