AFP, Washington

A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon yesterday, marking only the second private mission to achieve the milestone -- and the first to do so upright.

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down shortly after 3:34 am US Eastern Time (0834 GMT) near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon’s northeastern near side.

“Y’all stuck the landing, we’re on the Moon,” an engineer at mission control in Austin, Texas, called out as the team erupted in cheers.

CEO Jason Kim confirmed that the spacecraft was “stable and upright” -- in contrast to the first private landing last February, which came down sideways.

“We’re on the Moon!” Nicky Fox, associate administrator for Nasa’s Science Mission Directorate, rejoiced.

The first image from the lander revealed the rocky, pockmarked terrain it had to autonomously navigate in order to select its touchdown spot, having slowed down from thousands of miles per hour to just two mph.

Nicknamed “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” the mission is part of a Nasa-industry partnership aimed at reducing costs and supporting Artemis, the program designed to return astronauts to the Moon.

The golden lander, about the size of a hippopotamus, launched on January 15 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, capturing stunning footage of Earth and the Moon along its 2.8 million mile journey.