The Blue Ghost lander, part of Firefly Aerospace’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, bid farewell to the Moon after a successful 14-day mission. The lander captured breathtaking footage of its final sunset on the lunar surface before succumbing to the cold temperatures.
A minute-long video released by Firefly features stunning images stitched together from various cameras on board the lander. The video shows Earth and Venus shining above the Moon’s horizon, with a shadow stretching across the lunar surface. This was captured using one of six Stereo Cameras for Lunar-Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS) 1.1 cameras.
Blue Ghost touched down on the lunar surface on March 2, carrying 10 NASA instruments to study the lunar surface and gather data for future human missions. During its mission, it deployed payloads and transmitted over 119 gigabytes of data back to Earth. This was the longest commercial mission on the Moon to date.
Firefly Aerospace has shared several incredible videos from the Blue Ghost lander throughout its mission. The company’s “Ghost Riders to the Sky” mission made it the second company to land on the Moon, with its lander landing upright after a successful touchdown. Firefly is now preparing for its next lunar mission, aiming to touch down every year.
Source: https://gizmodo.com/lunar-lander-captures-first-high-definition-video-of-a-sunset-on-the-moon-2000578051