The Blue Ghost spacecraft built by Firefly Aerospace has performed a successful maneuver that put it on a flight path to the Moon. The Earth’s messenger will reach it on February 12.
Blue Ghost was launched on January 15. Its mission is funded under a contract awarded to Firefly Aerospace as part of the CLPS program. On board the spacecraft are ten NASA-granted scientific instruments to be delivered to the lunar surface.
Blue Ghost was originally launched into an extended Earth orbit, where it spent 25 days. Firefly engineers used this time to check the operation of the probe’s main systems, as well as to fulfill part of the mission’s science objectives. Thus, the RadPC radiation-resistant computer installed on board successfully operated during the passage through the radiation belts. And the LMS instrument accurately measured variations in Earth’s magnetosphere, confirming that it will be able to measure magnetic and electric fields on the Moon. This will shed light on the temperature of its interior and the composition of its surface.
In total, Blue Ghost transmitted 13 gigabytes of data back to Earth during its time in Earth orbit. On February 8, the spacecraft began the next phase of its flight. It performed a maneuver that put it on a trajectory to the Moon.
Blue Ghost will reach the Moon on February 12. If all goes well, it will perform another course correction, which will move it to a permanent selenocentric orbit. Blue Ghost will spend 16 days there. Firefly specialists will have enough time to calibrate its navigation system and prepare for landing, which is scheduled for March 2.
The spacecraft should land near Mare Crisium, which is located in the northeastern part of the visible side of the Moon. It’s designed to last 14 days on the surface. Since Blue Ghost has no built-in heaters, it is unlikely to survive a cold lunar night.
According to NASA
