Blue Ghost's final descent to the Moon is tentatively scheduled for March 2. The target landing site is in Mare Crisium, an ancient 350-mile-wide (560-kilometer) impact basin in the northeast part of the near side of the Moon.

A new year of lunar exploration kicked off early Wednesday, when two robotic landers and a small rover began their journeys to the moon.

Built by Firefly Aerospace and Ispace, the pair of spacecraft will land separately in the moon's northern latitudes, conduct science experiments and test new technology

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander launched at 1:11 a.m. Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the SpaceX rocket before separating an hour later. The lunar lander — part of a mission known as Blue Ghost Mission 1 or Ghost Riders in the Sky — will spend 45 days in orbit and 14 days on the surface of the moon.

Blue Ghost’s Moon mission, launched by SpaceX, is set to revolutionize lunar exploration and offer Earth valuable lessons from space. At 1:11 a.m. EST on SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket carrying Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched two lunar landers, Blue Ghost and Resilience, marking a new chapter in moon exploration efforts.

Simultaneous launches signal growing private interest in lunar exploration, traditionally dominated by governments.