Mark Megahan
The American lunar lander, Blue Ghost, has its cameras rolling all the way to the moon. The first images released show our natural satellite as seen by the spacecraft from Earth orbit. Everyone’s excited by the clip showing a total eclipse of the sun, as Earth moves in front.
Blue Ghost images
Texas-based Firefly Aerospace is proud to announce that “the Blue Ghost lunar lander has captured its first images of the moon from the spacecraft’s orbit around Earth.”
They posted two images, on January 27, which feature “a view of the moon from the top deck of the 6.6-foot-tall lunar lander as well as a snapshot of the celestial orb on its own.”
Blue Ghost may be on the way but its journey to the moon will take another month. ETA for landing is March 2. “Firefly plans to provide regular mission updates,” the company assures.
Besides the pair released on X, the “private U.S. spacecraft has also been capturing images and videos of our planet.” They should shut the Flat Earthers up but won’t. Proof only gets in the way of their conspiracies.
Another set of Blue Ghost snapshots includes “footage of Earth eclipsing the sun.” That clip “shows the spacecraft submerged in brief darkness as the Earth blocks nearly all of the sun’s light.”
Amateur astronomers are glued to the video feed.
Just getting started
Chief engineer Will Coogan had a few things to relate publicly.
“Firefly’s first Moon and Blue Marble images captured by our Blue Ghost lunar lander embodies everything this bold, unstoppable team has worked so hard for over the last three years. And we’re just getting started.”
Blue Ghost launched on January 15, with a Japanese rival lander strapped in right beside it on the same booster rocket. The race for the moon is on.
After reaching orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9, the “lunar spacecraft is expected to leave Earth’s orbit in about one week, embarking on a four-day journey to the moon.”
While it only takes four days to cross the void, “Blue Ghost will orbit our celestial neighbor for 16 days before attempting a descent to the lunar surface.” Right now, the capsule is “a third of its way to the Moon, and we expect to capture even more breathtaking imagery,” Coogan relates.
“Most importantly, we’ll be capturing critical science data for our NASA customers all along the way that will pave the way for a lasting lunar presence and unlock exploration further into our solar system.” Blue Ghost “carries 10 NASA science and technology instruments aboard as part of the space agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS, initiative.“
