Stunning Close-Ups of the Moon as Lunar Landing Attempt Nears
The Blue Ghost lunar lander has been providing us with stunning images of the moon since it successfully entered its orbit on February 13. This spacecraft, created by a Texas-based company called Firefly Aerospace, recently shared some impressive video footage that includes a close-up view of the moon’s far side, which is normally out of sight from Earth. This footage was taken after the lander moved to a lower orbit about 120 kilometers (approximately 74.6 miles) above the lunar surface.
Not only did the lander capture images of the moon’s rocky terrain and its many impact craters, but it also showcased a specific area near the lunar south pole. Joseph Marlin, who is the deputy chief engineer for the Blue Ghost mission, described the newly released moon footage as “completely surreal.” He mentioned that while they had an idea of what the images would look like, seeing the actual footage of the moon’s features like craters and boulders was incredibly inspiring. It brought home the reality of how close they are to achieving their goals after all the hard work invested in this mission.
The Blue Ghost spacecraft left Earth on February 8 and traveled for several days to reach the moon, which is about 238,855 miles (or 384,400 kilometers) away on average. As of now, the lander is about halfway through its planned 16-day orbit around the moon. It is scheduled to attempt a landing on the lunar surface on March 2.
This mission also carries a significant scientific purpose. The Blue Ghost is equipped with 10 NASA science and technology instruments as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS). This program is part of NASA’s larger Artemis initiative, which aims to land astronauts on the moon for the first time in over 50 years. Once Blue Ghost lands, these instruments will operate for around two weeks to gather information, mainly studying the moon’s subsurface, including lunar dust and the loose rocks known as regolith that cover the surface.
According to NASA’s Artemis program, missions like Blue Ghost not only carry out scientific experiments but also help test new technologies and demonstrate various capabilities. This work is essential for preparing for future astronaut missions to the moon and possibly to Mars.
After landing, Blue Ghost is expected to touch down on the far eastern edge of the moon’s near side, near a region known as Mons Latreille, which is part of a vast basin called Mare Crisium or “Sea of Crises.” It will conduct operations on the surface for one lunar day, which is about 14 Earth days, before the lunar night sets in. The cold and dark conditions during this time will likely halt any operations.
The engineers behind the Blue Ghost mission are particularly eager about the data they expect to collect after the landing. Marlin mentioned that they are looking forward to an upcoming solar eclipse on March 14, during which the Earth will obstruct the sun from the moon’s perspective, casting Blue Ghost into shadow for about five hours. This event will be a solar eclipse for the moon while a lunar eclipse will be visible from certain areas on Earth.
They also plan to capture the lunar sunset on March 16 and hope to observe a phenomenon called dust levitation, where lunar dust appears to hover just above the surface. This was first illustrated by the last astronaut who walked on the moon during the Apollo missions, making this an exciting and potentially groundbreaking observation.
