The Blue Ghost lander has made history by successfully drilling into the moon’s surface, providing valuable data and stunning visuals from the lunar surface. The spacecraft landed near Mons Latreille on March 2 and began executing its science objectives, including taking a breathtaking image of the lunar sunrise.
Firefly Aerospace has released video footage of some of Blue Ghost’s payloads in action, showcasing the Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity (LISTER) experiment. LISTER has been drilling into the moon’s surface over the past week, reaching depths of 2-3 meters and taking temperature measurements to study how heat flows through the moon’s interior.
The Blue Ghost lander also deployed four tethered electrodes and an 8-foot mast as part of NASA’s Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS) payload. Meanwhile, another payload, Lunar PlanetVac, successfully collected, transferred, and sorted lunar soil using pressurized nitrogen gas.
As of March 6, eight out of ten payloads on Blue Ghost had completed their mission objectives, including SCALPSS, which observed the effects of the lander’s engine plumes on lunar regolith. However, the mission is nearing its end, with the sun set to appear on March 16, marking the final day of the solar-powered lander.
Before that, the Blue Ghost lander will image the sunset to study how lunar dust levitates above the surface at the close of the lunar day.
Source: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/watch-sparks-fly-as-blue-ghost-lander-drills-into-the-moon-video