Blue Ghost's lunar mission unveils unseen moon craters
Blue Ghost, a spacecraft owned by Firefly Aerospace, has captured the latest photos from the Moon's orbit. The footage reveals close-ups of the vast craters on the side we cannot see from Earth. The spacecraft is scheduled to land on the Moon in a few days.
Blue Ghost, a private spacecraft, has just sent video footage from the far side of the Moon. It is part of a mission to deliver ten scientific and technological instruments to the Moon's surface. The spacecraft is currently performing a series of maneuvers to lower its orbit around the Moon and is on course to the Mare Crisium region on the Moon's surface, where it plans to land on March 2.
Blue Ghost is developed and operated by Firefly Aerospace, a private space technology company. Although this mission is funded as part of the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, where NASA pays for the service of delivering payloads to the Moon, the lander itself belongs to Firefly Aerospace, and the company is responsible for its development, construction, and operations. NASA commissioning missions to private companies instead of building its own spacecraft is part of a broader commercialization strategy for lunar flights. Firefly Aerospace is one of many private entities participating in this initiative.
Blue Ghost will study heat flow on the Moon
The Firefly Aerospace team reported the completion of another orbital maneuver around the Moon on February 19, which lasted 3 minutes and 18 seconds. This maneuver shifted the lander from a high to a much lower elliptical orbit around the Moon. Shortly afterward, Blue Ghost captured incredible images of the far side of the Moon from a distance of approximately 75 miles from its surface.
NASA has placed a range of advanced equipment on board the Blue Ghost lander. The mission aims to study the heat flow from the Moon's interior, the interaction between the plume and the surface, and explore the crust's electric and magnetic fields. Additionally, X-ray images of Earth's magnetosphere will be taken. There are also plans to test technologies such as regolith collection and adhesion, computer radiation resistance, and dust mitigation using electrodynamic fields.
This is essential for future crewed missions to the Moon
The 14-day mission aims to assist in the planning of future crewed trips to the Moon. The highlight will be capturing high-resolution images of an eclipse scheduled for March 14, when Earth will obscure the Sun over the Moon's horizon.
The following day, Blue Ghost will capture the sunset on the Moon, providing data on lunar dust, which, according to Eugene Cernan from the Apollo 17 mission, causes the horizon to glow. Later, after sunset, the lander will operate for several hours on a lunar night. Studying the dust is essential for future crewed missions, as without an atmosphere, this dust can hover above the surface, posing a risk of infiltrating equipment and affecting astronauts' respiratory systems.
Blue Ghost is transmitting data regarding this phenomenon and preparing to descend further toward the Moon's surface. According to Firefly Aerospace, the team is experiencing planned communication interruptions as the lander passes over the far side of the Moon. Once it arrives on the visible side, they will continue to receive data and finalize plans for the next maneuver, ensuring Blue Ghost's continued approach to the lunar surface and maintaining the schedule for landing on March 2.
