Firefly's Blue Ghost Mission 1 is set to land on the Moon on March 2, seeking new insights about Earth's natural satellite. The Blue Ghost spacecraft, launched on Jan. 15 this year, is now 100 km above the Moon. It is expected to land at Mare Crisium, on the near side, on Mar. 2 around 3:34 am ET (2:04 pm IST).
The Blue Ghost lunar lander has been sharing stunning visuals of the Moon since it successfully entered its orbit on February 13. A new video taken by the lunar lander was released on Thursday.
"The Moon is so close, we can taste it! New footage from Firefly Space shows their lunar lander's view from 60 miles (100 km) above the Moon. Blue Ghost will land at Mare Crisium, on the near side of the Moon, on March 2, no earlier than 3:34 AM ET," NASA said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), on Thursday.
Texas-based Firefly Aerospace is leading the mission under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
The Moon is so close, we can taste it!
February 26, 2025
New footage from @Firefly_Space shows their lunar lander's view from 60 miles (100 km) above the Moon. Blue Ghost will land at Mare Crisium, on the near side of the Moon, on March 2, no earlier than 3:34am ET (0834 UTC). pic.twitter.com/EBZyXHEerLWhat Is The Objective Of Blue Ghost Mission 1?
NASA explained that one of the key objectives of this mission is to study lunar heat flow and electric and magnetic fields. The spacecraft will also take X-ray images of Earth's magnetosphere. For this purpose, the Blue Ghost Mission 1 (TO 19D) lander is designed to be equipped with technology that can support tests like regolith sampling, Global Navigation Satellite System abilities, regolith adherence and dust mitigation among others.
AdvertisementThe NASA-funded mission, also known as 'Ghost Riders in the Sky', entered lunar orbit on Feb. 13. Once it lands, Blue Ghost will operate during one lunar daylight period, which lasts about 14 Earth days.
Firefly also plans to capture high-definition images of a total eclipse, as the Earth will block the Sun above the Moon's horizon on Mar. 14. Two days later, Blue Ghost will record the lunar sunset.
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According to NASA, the Blue Ghost lander has a payload capacity of 155 kilograms. It is powered by solar panels that can be mounted on the sides of the spacecraft or deployed. This will depend on the orientation of the spacecraft and the Sun. It also contains heat pipes, radiators, and multi-layer insulation for thermal control.
"Communications at the surface allow 6 Mbps downlink average, 10 Mbps peak, and 0.2 kbps uplink average, 2 kbps peak," NASA said, adding that Blue Ghost is carrying ten payloads to the surface.
The spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral, United States using SpaceX-powered Falcon 9 launch vehicle.
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