Firefly Aerospace has published on social networks a series of images taken by the Blue Ghost spacecraft after landing. They show the surrounding landscape and the sunrise on the Moon.
Blue Ghost landed on the Moon on March 2. The place of its landing was Mare Crisium, located in the northeastern part of the visible side of the Moon. As a result of this success, Firefly Aerospace became the second company after Intuitive Machines to land their vehicle on the Moon.
After landing, Blue Ghost successfully deployed its antenna and began transmitting data back to Earth. Among them were photos of the landing site. On them you can see the long shadow cast by the spacecraft, as well as the Earth. As Mare Crisium is located fairly close to the edge of the Moon’s visible side, our planet is relatively low in the sky.
As for the shadow, its length is due to the fact that Blue Ghost landed shortly after dawn. The vehicle even took a picture of it. It can be noticed that the Sun has a blinding white light. This is because there is no atmosphere on the Moon, giving it the shades of yellow and red we are used to.
It is also worth noting that on March 14, the spacecraft will have to witness a total solar eclipse (a total lunar eclipse will be observed on Earth on that day) and has a pretty good chance of capturing it. When the Earth completely covers the Sun in the lunar sky, a ring of fire will form around its limb, caused by the refraction of the Sun’s rays in the atmosphere.
Blue Ghost’s program is designed to run for 14 days. Since Blue Ghost is not equipped with heaters, it is unlikely that it will survive a cold lunar night.
