Blue Ghost lander captures stunning sunrise on the moon shot after historic landing - PHOTO
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander has captured a breathtaking shot of sunrise on the moon, marking the start of its workday after a successful lunar touchdown.
Blue Ghost aced its lunar landing attempt on Sunday (March 2), setting down close to Mons Latreille, a solitary lunar peak in the vast basin Mare Crisium ("Sea of Crises") in the northeastern region of the moon's near side, News.Az reports, citing Space.com.
And the spacecraft is already getting to work, starting up its science payloads and capturing amazing images of its surroundings and the distant Earth from the lunar surface.
'The latest image, posted by Firefly on the social media platform X on Monday (March 3), shows a dramatic sunrise, with the intensely bright sun contrasting with shadowed craters on an uneven lunar surface.
"Rise and shine! Firefly's Blue Ghost lander captured its first sunrise on the moon, marking the beginning of the lunar day and the start of surface operations in its new home," the post reads.
Rise and shine! Firefly’s #BlueGhost lander captured its first sunrise on the Moon, marking the beginning of the lunar day and the start of surface operations in its new home. Our #GhostRiders have already begun operating many of the 10 @NASA payloads aboard the lander and will… pic.twitter.com/YI9nuFZfmk
— Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space) March 3, 2025
Firefly added that many of the 10 NASA science payloads aboard the lander have begun operating and will continue operations for the next two weeks and into the lunar night, when the solar-powered mission is set to conclude. The instruments will contribute to studies in a range of areas, including lunar composition, geology and heat flow on the moon and space weather. Blue Ghost will also test drilling technology, and its camera aims to capture how lunar dust levitates on the surface at sunset.
Similar news
