Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander is currently en route to the moon, having captured breathtaking views of the Earth from space. The company recently shared these visuals on Twitter, showcasing its progress towards the scheduled landing date of March 2, 2025.
According to Firefly Aerospace, the accuracy achieved during its first two burns allowed it to skip the third Earth orbit maneuver, positioning itself well for a successful trans-lunar injection in under a week. The company also expressed excitement over the prospect of capturing stunning images and videos during the mission, which has already garnered significant attention from people worldwide.
The Blue Ghost mission is an integral part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, aiming to deliver ten research payloads to Mare Crisium on the lunar surface. Launched on January 15, 2025, the lander will operate for approximately 60 days during its mission, supporting various science and technology demonstrations such as sample collection, X-ray imaging, and lunar subsurface drilling.
The LEXI X-ray imager payload, developed in collaboration with NASA and Johns Hopkins University, is being calibrated daily to optimize its performance levels. Once the lander successfully lands on March 2, 2025, it will capture a series of X-ray images to study the interaction between solar wind and the Earth’s magnetic field.
The Blue Ghost mission holds significant importance for scientific research and technological advancements, making it an exciting development in the space exploration sector.
Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/blue-ghost-on-way-to-moon-captures-stunning-visuals-of-earth-7631762