Firefly’s towering 6-foot lunar lander successfully entered the moon’s orbit on Thursday, following a lunar orbit insertion burn that commenced around 9 p.m. EST and lasted slightly over four minutes. This significant achievement took place five days after the Blue Ghost executed a maneuver known as the trans lunar injection, enabling it to break free from Earth’s gravitational pull and head toward the moon’s orbit. Subsequently, the Blue Ghost captured two remarkable images – one featuring Earth with the moon in the background, and another showcasing Earth’s reflection on the spacecraft’s solar panel against the moonlit horizon. The first detailed snapshot of the moon’s south pole was then taken during the lunar orbit insertion phase.
Over the next couple of weeks, Firefly’s mission engineers intend to calibrate the spacecraft’s navigation system and evaluate its scientific payloads for NASA before the descent. Upon reaching the moon, Firefly’s spacecraft will transport and assist in testing a set of NASA’s scientific instruments.
Firefly’s journey following liftoff
After launching on January 15 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander captured a self-portrait featuring Earth in the background. The photograph shows a view looking down the side of the lander, revealing the top of Blue Ghost’s thrusters with Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS) probes on either side. In the weeks following the launch, the lander underwent testing of the scientific equipment it is carrying to the moon for NASA, while also capturing stunning images along the way.
On January 27, Blue Ghost took the first snapshots of the moon from a distance, following a crucial engine firing to raise its apogee as it readied to enter the moon’s orbit. The lander also witnessed and documented the Earth eclipsing the moon from its perspective, and on February 3, transmitted an impressive “selfie” featuring Earth in the background. Notable among the scientific instruments tested onboard is an X-ray imager calibrated to study the interaction between solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field, which trigger geomagnetic disturbances on our planet. The lander successfully operated NASA’s Radiation Tolerant Computer (RadPC) while passing through the hazardous Van Allen radiation belts, offering valuable insights into potential astronaut experiences and measures to counteract radiation effects on computers. Moreover, Firefly and NASA confirmed the operational status of NASA’s Lunar PlanetVac, laying the groundwork for its surface activities on the moon to collect and transport lunar soil for other scientific instruments or sample return containers.
Insights into the NASA-supported mission
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center carrying Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 to the moon for NASA. This mission occurs as NASA gears up to send American astronauts back to the moon’s surface through its Artemis initiative – marking the agency’s initial lunar program since the conclusion of the Apollo missions in 1972. Fire
The scheduled lunar landing, set to take place on Sunday, March 2 at 3:45 a.m. EST, coincides with Intuitive Machines’ upcoming lunar landing mission, which is projected to launch as early as Feb. 26. This mission will see the delivery of 10 instruments to the moon, marking the largest payload delivery thus far under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program (CLPS). Upon landing near the volcanic feature known as Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium, these instruments will be utilized. Mare Crisium is a 300-mile-wide basin on the moon’s near side that is thought to have formed over 3 billion years ago as a result of ancient volcanic activity and subsequent flooding with basaltic lava.
The Blue Ghost Mission One lander by Firefly Aerospace is entrusted with carrying the 10 NASA science and technology instruments to the Moon’s near side. This mission will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Firefly’s team plans to operate the 10 NASA instruments for a full lunar day, equivalent to approximately 14 Earth days. In addition to this, Blue Ghost intends to capture high-definition imagery of a total eclipse as the Earth obstructs the sun just before the onset of the frigid lunar night on March 16.
Covering breaking and trending news for USA TODAY, Eric Lagatta can be reached at elagatta@gannett.com. This article was originally published on USA TODAY, delving into the anticipated arrival of the Blue Ghost lander in lunar orbit and posing the question of when it will finally reach the moon.
