Through the looking glass: Firefly’s Blue Ghost, the first fully successful private flight to the Moon’s surface, recently completed its mission without issues. In addition to transmitting 119 gigabytes of valuable scientific data, the lander sent back astonishing images and footage of the Sun’s movement from the lunar surface.
NASA and private space company Firefly have released unprecedented images showing an eclipse and a sunset from the Moon. The video clips and accompanying pictures provide a fitting conclusion to this historic mission.
On March 2, Blue Ghost became the first spacecraft from a private company to achieve a perfect landing on the Moon, capturing a stunning lunar sunrise shortly after touchdown. As the lunar day ended on March 14 – marking the conclusion of the lander’s solar-powered operation – it recorded crisp footage of the sunset, watch that below:
The company later released high-resolution photos of the event at multiple stages. Blue Ghost also captured a solar eclipse as Earth passed in front of the Sun.
During its two-week mission, the lander successfully deployed all 10 of NASA’s onboard science instruments and gathered data crucial for future missions. One experiment successfully tracked the Global Navigation Satellite System in lunar orbit and on the surface for the first time.
Other experiments tested innovative methods for manipulating lunar soil and dust using pressurized nitrogen gas and electrodynamic forces, which could facilitate sample collection and dust mitigation in future missions. Additionally, the mission provided unprecedented measurements of the Moon’s deep interior.
Multiple governments and companies have struggled to land on the Moon in recent years, with some missions crashing on impact and others tipping over after unstable landings.
Recent lunar missions aim to lay the groundwork for a permanent Moon-based infrastructure, which could include rail lines, nuclear power plants, data centers, and more. NASA plans to send astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time in over half a century through its multi-stage Artemis program. However, the project has faced repeated delays.
Artemis I successfully orbited the Moon in 2023, while Artemis II’s planned flyby has been postponed until next year. A crewed mission, Artemis III, is now tentatively scheduled for launch in 2027.
In other space-related news, NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore finally returned to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after their mission – originally planned for eight days – lasted nine months. Although former President Donald Trump, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and the media described the astronauts as “stranded,” NASA maintains that the extended stay was within mission parameters.
After docking with the International Space Station last June, Williams and Wilmore were forced to remain on board due to problems with Boeing’s crew capsule. They finally returned this month aboard a SpaceX mission. During their 286 days in space, the pair conducted over 150 scientific experiments, and Williams set a new spacewalking time record for female astronauts.
