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Lunar-bound Blue Ghost captures stunning video of Earth

Firefly's Blue Ghost captures an image of Earth.
Firefly Aerospace

After launching aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 15, Firefly Aerospace’s moon-bound Blue Ghost spacecraft has been orbiting Earth ahead of a trans-lunar injection maneuver in just under a week’s time.

From its current location way above Earth, it’s been beaming back some incredible footage over the last couple of weeks, including this clip of our own planet shared on social media on Monday.

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T-5 days until Blue Ghost says goodbye to Earth! With the accuracy we achieved on our first two burns, we were able to skip the third Earth orbit maneuver. Blue Ghost is already in a good position to perform our trans-lunar injection in just under a week. Our #GhostRiderspic.twitter.com/lMHpr8ix14

— Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space) February 3, 2025

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As you can see from Firefly’s post, Blue Ghost is gearing up to continue its journey to the moon, where it will remain in a lunar orbit for 16 days before attempting a landing on March 2. The entire mission is expected to last close to 60 days, including about 45 days traveling time, and 14 days of operations on the lunar surface.

Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 a part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, and aims to deliver 10 scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to support future human exploration of the moon under the Artemis program.

The Blue Ghost lander, which is about 2 meters tall and 3.5 meters wide, will touch down near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium, a 500-kilometer-wide basin on the moon’s near side, delivering 94 kilograms (207 pounds) of payloads to the lunar surface.

Scientific objectives include analysis of lunar regolith properties, investigation of the interactions between solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field, the evaluation of long-distance Global Navigation Satellite System capabilities, and assessment of radiation-tolerant computing, among other activities.

“This mission embodies the bold spirit of NASA’s Artemis campaign — a campaign driven by scientific exploration and discovery,” NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy said when Blue Ghost left Earth last month. “Each flight we’re a part of is a vital step in the larger blueprint to establish a responsible, sustained human presence at the moon, Mars, and beyond. Each scientific instrument and technology demonstration brings us closer to realizing our vision.”

Reaching the moon is no easy feat, with America’s Peregrine lunar lander suffering a catastrophic glitch on its way there in a mission last year, and Japan’s HAKUTO-R Mission 1 failing in the final moments before touchdown.

This is Firefly’s first attempt to land on the moon. Fingers crossed that it nails it.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost mission launches to the moon
Creating a golden streak in the night sky, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission One lander soars upward after liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Jan. 15, as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. The Blue Ghost lander will carry 10 NASA science and technology instruments to the lunar surface to further understand the Moon and help prepare for future human missions.

A moon lander from Firefly Aerospace was launched this morning carrying a variety of NASA science instruments and technology demonstrations. The Blue Ghost mission was launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:11 a.m. ET today, Wednesday January 15.

The aim is for the mission to perform a soft landing on the moon. If successful it will be just the second such landing ever by a private company, following the Intuitive Machines Odyssey landing last year. These two landings are part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which aims to have companies deliver NASA science to the moon ahead of planned human exploration there for the Artemis mission.

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How to watch Firefly launch its Blue Ghost mission to the moon on Tuesday night
Firefly Aerospace

This week will feature a historic event as Firefly Aerospace launches its first mission to the moon. The Blue Ghost mission aims to put a lander on the moon carrying NASA science experiments, as part of NASA's efforts to get private companies involved in lunar exploration. If the landing succeeds, it will be just the second soft lunar landing by a private company, following the Intuitive Machines Odyssey lander last year.

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost mission will launch late at night on Tuesday, January 14, or Wednesday, January 15. Using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the Blue Ghost will launch from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch will be liveistreamed by NASA, and you can watch it either on YouTube or by using the video embedded below:

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Despite a messy landing that left the Odysseus spacecraft with a broken leg and tilting over, the team at Intuitive Machines has hailed its IM-1 lunar mission a success.

That’s because it managed to get Odysseus onto the lunar surface largely in one piece and operating well enough to send data back to Earth.

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