Journey to the Moon through the eyes of the Blue Ghost lander

(CLO) Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander has just captured the first images of the Moon. Two photos posted by Firefly on the social network X show the view from the upper deck of the 2-meter-high lander, along with a photo of the Moon taken from afar.

Blue Ghost, scheduled to land on the Moon on March 2, also captured images of Earth eclipsing the Sun, creating a moment when the spacecraft was plunged into darkness as sunlight was almost completely blocked.

Another video released on January 31 shows Earth eclipsing the Moon as the Blue Ghost spacecraft moves in orbit.

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Video of Earth and the Moon from a spacecraft. (source: Firefly Aerospace)

Since launching on January 15 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Blue Ghost has been orbiting Earth and is set to leave orbit in about a week to begin its four-day journey to the Moon. The spacecraft will then orbit the Moon for 16 days before making its crucial landing.

Blue Ghost will collect important scientific data for NASA, supporting the goal of establishing a long-term human presence on the Moon and paving the way for missions to explore deeper into the Solar System.

Blue Ghost captured the scene of Earth eclipsing the Moon from the spacecraft's position in Earth orbit. Photo: Firefly Aerospace

The lander carries 10 NASA science and technology instruments as part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, which aims to collect data from the lunar surface in support of the broader Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly, said he was excited to share the images and videos collected by Blue Ghost, including the lunar horizon glow phenomenon - a special optical effect observed with the naked eye by Apollo 15 and 17 astronauts.

Blue Ghost will capture this phenomenon with a 4K high resolution camera and share it with the world .

The top deck of the Blue Ghost lander is photographed with the Moon in the background. Photo: Firefly Aerospace

The company also plans to photograph a total solar eclipse from the Moon, when the Earth passes directly between the Sun and the Moon on March 13-14. The event will be visible from Western Europe, parts of Asia, Australia, Africa, the Americas and Antarctica.

If all goes well, Blue Ghost will land in the Mons Latreille region on the far eastern edge of the Moon, in a basin more than 480 kilometers wide called Mare Crisium, or "Sea of ​​Crisis."

The lander is expected to operate for about 14 Earth days before entering the lunar night, when cold temperatures could shut it down.

Ngoc Anh (according to CNN, Space)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/hinh-anh-ngoan-muc-moi-ve-trai-dat-va-mat-trang-duoc-tau-do-bo-chia-se-voi-the-gioi-post332628.html