By Jayvee Vallejera
Among other things, Marcus Manglona now has one claim to fame—his name is on the moon.
The Blue Ghost lunar lander, which landed on the moon on March 2, carried with it not just NASA scientific equipment but also a plaque containing the names of more than 700 Firefly Aerospace employees.
Because of the near-unchanging nature of the moon, the Blue Ghost lander and everything in it—including the plaque—is expected to last there for millions of years.
“My parents always told me to dream for the stars,” Manglona said.
On March 2, he symbolically did just that—by seeing his name placed on the moon.
“It’s part of history now,” said Manglona, the son of Mark and Lillian Manglona. “I’m a CHamoru kid. I was born and raised on Guam and my family name is now actually on the moon. So, it’s a really big thing for me. I wish my dad were still here so he could see me accomplish this dream.”
Manglona, who is from Mangilao and played football for the JFK Islanders and the youth leagues, is an Electrical Ground Support Equipment technician for Firefly Aerospace, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He maintains and troubleshoots the tools that are used to validate and test the electrical functions of satellites.
Although he was not directly involved in Firefly’s Blue Ghost project, Manglona said he finds it quite moving to be part of the first private company to successfully land on the moon. Up to that point, that feat was only accomplished by nations (the United States, Russia, China, India and Japan).
Before Firefly, another private company, Intuitive Machines, also succeeded in making a soft landing on the moon, but its lander, the Athena, tipped over and was unable to complete its mission.
Curtis Szajkovics, Firefly's systems engineer, was thrilled that the moon lander and everything in it, including the nameplate, are now permanently on the moon.
“That will be on the surface of the moon for millions of years, and thinking about that just blows my mind every time I think about it,” he said in a Blue Ghost video on YouTube that introduces the team.
Szajkovics, who commanded the lunar lander, said hundreds of people poured years of work into the project.
“Just thinking about having something that’s going to be on the surface of the moon for a very long time and has something that I contributed to is extremely exciting,” he said.
Manglona said he and many Firefly employees were able to see the accomplishment from one of the many venue spots that had been set up so everyone got the chance to watch as Ghost Lander nailed the landing. “It was amazing to see that we were able to touch down,” he added.
With its latest accomplishment, Firefly Aerospace, which seeks to increase access to space, is now ramping up efforts to send missions to the moon every year.
Manglona said they are now in the middle of development efforts for a second moon lander “and that should be happening sometime next year.”
He said Firefly is also busy working on smaller rocket launches to deliver satellite payloads to near-earth destinations.
Firefly is looking at around five rocket launches this year, he added.
Manglona debunked the myth that one has to be a rocket scientist to pursue a career in aerospace. “You just got to have a good résumé, a good head on your shoulders," he said. "A really good plus is focusing on engineering and getting an (Airframes A Powerplants) associate degree."
His advice to anyone who wants to go into aerospace? “Dream big and don’t stop. Every dream can be accomplished. So if you have a dream, don’t stop chasing it.”
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