Firefly ’s Blue Ghost lander went gently into the lunar night after spending a full lunar day on the Moon , gathering data and beam it back to Earth as part of the company ’s first commercial-grade drop - off delegation .
Blue Ghost direct its terminal transmission on Sunday at 7:15 p.m. ET , wrapping up the foresightful private mission on the Moon to date . Firefly ’s landertouched down on the lunar surfaceon Sunday , March 2 , landing in an ancient impact site known as Mare Crisium . After pulling off aflawless touchdown , Blue Ghost have to work on the Moon ’s stale open . The lander make out 14 days of surface operations , deploying its various payloads and transmitting more than 119 G of datum back to Earth . This was the longest the missionary station could last , as Blue Ghost is not built to survive the frigid lunar night .
“ There is no such thing as an well-heeled Moon landing , especially on your first endeavour , ” Will Coogan , primary railroad engineer of the Blue Ghost mission at Firefly Aerospace , said in astatement . “ We battle test every system on the lander and simulated every mission scenario we could think of to get to this spot . ”
Blue Ghost captured its shadow on the lunar surface with the deployed X-band antenna (left) and LEXI payload (right) on the top deck.Firefly Aerospace
Firefly Aerospace ’s first military mission to the Moon , appoint “ Ghost Riders in the Sky , ” was pack with 10 NASA instruments contrive to probe the lunar airfoil and gather data point to support next human commission to the Moon as part of NASA’sCommercial Lunar Payload Services(CLPS ) initiative . Some of the cardinal takeaways from the mission ’s payload operation admit using GPS - like signal to navigate next missions to the Moon , empathise how engine plume affect the airfoil of the Moon , and using an electrodynamic rubble carapace to move out lunar regolith from glass and thermic radiator surfaces .
In increase to these warhead , Texas - based Firefly performed some work of its own on the Moon . Blue Ghostcaptured a total solar occultation from the Moonon March 14 , while Earth simultaneously experienced a full lunar occultation . Two days after , Blue Ghost caught a lunar sunset , with Earth come along over the lunar horizon .
After the Sun set on the Moon , Blue Ghost operated for around five hours into the lunar Nox before bidding parting to its foreign mission team . Firefly claims that Blue Ghost run into “ 100 percent of its mission objective . ” The company is now gearing up to send annual missions to the Moon , and is already in the summons of putting together its Blue Ghost missionary work 2 , which will land on the far side of the Moon .
Blue Ghost captured a sunset from its position on the surface of the Moon. Credit: Firefly Aerospace
With its first mission , Firefly became the second company to land on the Moon . Intuitive Machines was the first one to do it in February 2024 , but itsOdysseus lander tipped over on its sideafter a not - so - idealistic touchdown . The company ’s follow - up mission alsoended up on its side and was declared deadshortly after arriving on the Moon on March 6 .
firefly aerospaceNASAthe moon
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