The Blue Ghost lander descended from lunar orbit on autopilot, aiming for the slopes of an ancient volcanic dome.

The landing precedes by just four days the planned arrival of a second uncrewed American spacecraft built and operated by Intuitive Machines. The space exploration company, also based in Texas, etched its name in the history books a year ago when its spacecraft,

The accomplishment makes Firefly the first private outfit to put a spacecraft on the moon without crashing or falling over.