Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander, launched on January 15th aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, has already transmitted remarkable images from its journey to the Moon. Besides achieving several critical milestones, Blue Ghost has captured a unique perspective of an Earth eclipse and a classic Earth image from space.
Blue Ghost First Image Credit: Firefly Aerospace
The “Ghost Riders in the Sky” mission is currently on a 45-day trajectory to the Moon, originating from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Shortly after launch, Blue Ghost acquired its first image, showcasing the lander’s components against the backdrop of space and a solar flare.
Six of the lander’s payloads are actively transmitting data back to Earth, with the Italian Space Agency’s LuGRE payload already commencing scientific operations. LuGRE is tracking GPS and Galileo satellite signals during the Earth-Moon transit to analyze signal acquisition and utilization.
Blue Ghost First Burn Credit: Firefly Aerospace
On January 18th, Firefly executed Blue Ghost’s inaugural engine burn, activating the lander’s thrusters and main engines. This maneuver adjusted the spacecraft’s trajectory, bringing it closer to Earth in preparation for subsequent maneuvers.
During its Earth orbit, Blue Ghost witnessed a unique eclipse, with Earth momentarily obscuring the Sun. This offers a contrasting perspective to the more common view of the Moon eclipsing the Sun from Earth.
Blue Ghost will remain in Earth orbit for 25 days before an engine burn propels it towards the Moon. A four-day lunar transit will follow, succeeded by 16 days in lunar orbit before the planned landing.
The lander captured impressive views of Earth during a second engine burn. With approximately two weeks remaining in Earth orbit, Blue Ghost is maximizing its observation opportunities.
The targeted landing site is Mare Crisium, a lunar basin formed by an ancient asteroid impact and subsequently filled with basaltic lava. According to NASA, these basalts range from 2.5 to 3.3 billion years old.
Blue Ghost carries 10 scientific instruments designed to study the lunar surface and collect data to support future human lunar missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The Moon is anticipated to become increasingly active, with additional commercial missions planned, including ispace’s Resilience lander, which launched alongside Blue Ghost but is scheduled for a later lunar arrival.
This year marks a significant increase in lunar exploration activities. With missions like Blue Ghost and Resilience, we are entering a new era of lunar exploration and scientific discovery.
