A selfie with Earth—a dream for many astronomers—has now been achieved, but not by a human. Instead, the honor goes to Blue Ghost, a robotic lunar lander that successfully touched down on the moon.
Second Commercial Moon Landing in History
On Sunday, the Blue Ghost lander made history as the second-ever commercial spacecraft to land on the moon. The two-meter-tall, three-meter-wide lander, built by Firefly Aerospace, safely touched down in Mare Crisium, a vast lunar basin measuring approximately 500 kilometers in diameter.
The journey from Earth to the moon took 46 days, covering nearly 400,000 kilometers before landing on the moon’s northeastern near side.
First Images from the Moon
Shortly after landing, Blue Ghost transmitted its first images, capturing the rugged lunar terrain. But one of its most spectacular shots features Earth in the background, a breathtaking perspective from the moon’s surface.
Before touchdown, the lander had already sent back detailed images of the lunar landscape, offering a preview of the terrain it would soon explore.
Mission Goals: Studying Moon Dust and a Solar Eclipse
Astronomers are now hoping that Blue Ghost will capture high-resolution images of a total solar eclipse on March 14, when Earth will pass between the sun and the moon, creating a rare celestial event.
The car-sized lander is equipped with advanced instruments, including:
- A vacuum system to collect lunar dust for analysis
- A drill capable of measuring subsurface temperatures up to three meters deep
Launched by SpaceX, Sending Images from Space
Blue Ghost was launched on January 15 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Since leaving Earth, the spacecraft has been actively transmitting images back home, providing a spectacular view of space as it embarked on its historic mission.
