Overview

• The Blue Ghost lunar lander, launched by Firefly Aerospace on January 15, has captured breathtaking visuals of the moon, including Earth rising and setting behind it.
• The spacecraft recently completed its final lunar orbit maneuver, entering a near-circular low lunar orbit approximately 120 kilometers above the moon's surface.
• The mission is targeting a soft landing on March 2 in Mare Crisium, a basin on the moon's near side, marking what could be the second private company to achieve a lunar landing.
• Blue Ghost carries 10 NASA payloads for scientific experiments, including lunar subsurface drilling, X-ray imaging, and testing dust mitigation technologies.
• The mission supports NASA's Artemis program by demonstrating capabilities for future human exploration and aims to operate for a full lunar day, equivalent to 14 Earth days.