land on the Moon is no easy exploit ; the lunar surface has become a burying ground for far too many missions that came to prematurely destruction . But Firefly ’s Blue Ghost appropriate the lunar surface a few days ago , and is now standing tall on the Moon . down on the Moon never looked so good , with Blue Ghost capturing incredible footage of its historic touchdown with a cinematic finis that ’s fitting for its name .
Firefly ’s first mission to the Moontouched down on the lunar surfaceon Sunday at 3:34 a.m. ET . The Texas - base company released a clip of Blue Ghost ’s pedigree toward the Moon follow by a placid landing place . The footage is a masterclass in lunar landings , capturing spectacular views of the lander emerge from a swarm of rubble , its shadow debase across the Moon ’s surface in a superhero - comparable stance .
The nigh 3 - minute of arc television enamor Blue Ghost as it lightly makes its fashion down toward the Moon , gliding across the cratered , saturnine grey surface with its shiny , metallic wings . The television also includes hauntingly beautiful views of the Moon , with the Sun vagabond its spark across the horizon .
Firefly’s Blue Ghost landing moments before reaching the lunar surfaceFirefly Aerospace/Gizmodo
As Blue Ghost eventually settle in on its designated landing spot , it kick up a cloud of dust before settling onto the regolith . The lander casts its shadow across the lunar surface , appearing as a well - defined silhouette once the dust locate . The trope of Blue Ghost ’s shadow is a reflexion of the mission , which is set to pave the way for more commercial landers hop to snag their own spot on the Moon .
The deputation , aptly named “ Ghost Riders in the Sky , ” touched down in Mare Crisium , a tumid impact site fill with basaltic lava on the Moon . Blue Ghost pull off a preciseness landing , touching down within a 328 - animal foot ( 100 - measure ) objective next to a volcanic feature call Mons Latreille .
Since land on the Moon , Blue Ghost has kick off its surface operations , deploy its payloads , sampling lunar regolith , and capturing epitome . The stationary lander will pass a full lunar day ( or the equivalent of 14 days on earthly concern ) analyze the Moon ’s dusty surface . Blue Ghost is also packed with 10 NASA instrument designed to dig into the lunar surface and gather datum to support next human mission to the Moon as part of NASA’sCommercial Lunar Payload Services(CLPS ) initiative . The NASA instrument are designed to try subsurface drilling on the Moon , regolith sample solicitation , planet pilotage engineering , and lunar dust extenuation method , according toNASA .
Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander on the Moon. Credit: Firefly Aerospace
Blue Ghostlaunched from Florida ’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday , January 15 , on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket . With its cinematic landing , Firefly Aerospace became the 2d private company to land on the Moon , and the first to land with its space vehicle remaining upright ( Intuitive Machines’Odysseus lander tip over on its sideafter landing on the Moon in February 2024 ) .
We ca n’t wait to see more of Blue Ghost ’s journeying unfold on the lunar surface .
firefly aerospaceNASAthe moonshine
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