Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander has just sent back an amazing image of a sunrise on the moon, kicking off its activities on the lunar surface.
The lander successfully touched down on March 2, landing near Mons Latreille, a lone peak in the Mare Crisium, also known as the “Sea of Crises,” found in the northeastern part of the moon’s near side.
Right after landing, Blue Ghost got straight to work. It powered up its scientific instruments and started capturing stunning photos of its surroundings and the distant Earth from the moon.
In a recent tweet, Firefly shared a striking image of the sunrise. The bright sun sharply illuminates some craters while casting deep shadows across the rugged lunar landscape.
The tweet announced, “Rise and shine! Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander captured its first sunrise on the moon, marking the beginning of the lunar day and the start of surface operations in its new home.” You can check out the full post here.
This landing is significant, coming 46 days after Blue Ghost launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Firefly CEO Jason Kim expressed excitement, saying, “Firefly is literally and figuratively over the moon.” He highlighted the achievement as a testament to the team’s dedication and capability to enable ongoing lunar exploration.
Blue Ghost carries ten scientific payloads from NASA. These devices will explore various topics including the moon’s geology, heat flow, and even space weather. Additionally, Blue Ghost will test new drilling technologies and its camera aims to study how lunar dust reacts during sunset.
Part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), Blue Ghost represents a step forward in lunar missions. This initiative allows private companies to transport NASA’s scientific instruments to the moon, supporting the goals of the Artemis program.
Another private company, Intuitive Machines, is also involved in this lunar effort with its Athena IM-2 lander, which recently entered lunar orbit and aims to land near the lunar south pole on March 6.
Furthermore, the Tokyo-based company ispace is working to land its Resilience lander. This spacecraft, which launched with Blue Ghost, is scheduled to make its landing attempt in late May or early June.
Check out this related article: Discovering the Ancient Origins of Water: A Key Element in the Formation of the Universe’s First Galaxies
Source link