Firefly Aerospace ’s Blue Ghost spacecraft has captured a fab image of Earth as it makes its way toward the moon .
Firefly share the epitome on X , noting that it shows Australia and the surround region .
G'day to our admirer down under ! To the delight of two Aussie Fireflies working in commission control , our Blue Ghost lunar lander snagged another postcard - worthy barb , this metre of Australia!#BGM1pic.twitter.com / mmUDZjMbdH
& mdash ; Firefly Aerospace ( @Firefly_Space)February 7 , 2025
The image was hold by an onboard television camera soon after Blue Ghost entrust Earth electron orbit en route to our near neighbor .
“ Blue Ghost has merged onto the highway to the moonlight ! ” the Texas - based squad enunciate in another post share on Sunday . “ After a successful Trans Lunar Injection burn , our lander has left Earth ’s scope and set out its 4 - day transportation to the moon ’s orbit . We ’ll then pass approximately 16 days in lunar orbit before we begin Blue Ghost ’s descent . This give us plenty of metre to calibrate our navigation organization and continue consignment skill operations for NASA . ”
Firefly launched Blue Ghost on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 15 .
When Blue Ghost reaches the moon , it will stay in a lunar reach for 16 days before land on the open on March 2 . The charge is scheduled to last a total of about 60 mean solar day and will include 14 days of operation on the moon ’s open .
appraise about 2 meters in height and 3.5 meter across , the Blue Ghost lander will deploy 10 scientific investigations and technology demonstrations geared toward supporting succeeding human geographic expedition of the moon as part of the Artemis program .
It ’ll allude down close to a volcanic feature foretell Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium , a 500 - kilometer - extensive catchment area on the moon ’s near side .
The missionary station has a number of objective , include studying lunar regolith , test new technologies for future missionary work , and conducting various scientific experiments , including observing Earth ’s magnetic sphere from the moon .
Firefly saysthat another delegation destination is to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers . “ Many of our Fireflies started dream of space at a young age filled with a signified of wonder as they expect to the stars and used their creativeness in designing vehicles from build blocks . Fast forward to today and this team of wishful thinker are now operating our Blue Ghost lander on its journeying to the moon . ”
While in Earth orbit in the beginning this month , the ballistic capsule alsocaptured this sensational imageof our planet .