Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost spacecraft has captured some stunning footage from 75 miles (120 kilometers) above the lunar surface as it gears up for its highly anticipated landing attempt on March 2.
Our #GhostRiders completed another lunar orbit maneuver with a 3 minute, 18 second burn early this morning. This maneuver moved the lander from a high elliptical orbit to a much lower elliptical orbit around the Moon. Shortly after the burn, Blue Ghost captured incredible footage… pic.twitter.com/ygyMVpaBW4
— Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space) February 18, 2025
In an update shared on X, Texas-based Firefly said the spacecraft completed another lunar orbit maneuver with a 3 minute, 18 second burn early on Tuesday, adding that it moved the lander from a high elliptical orbit to a much lower elliptical orbit around the moon.
It explained that during the spacecraft’s new orbit, the mission team will experience communication blackouts as Blue Ghost goes around the far side of the moon. “When on the near side, the team will continue to downlink data and finalize the plan for our next maneuver that will get Blue Ghost even closer to the lunar surface and keep us right on track for landing on March 2,” it said.
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The robotic landing mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, and is aiming to deliver 10 scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to support future human exploration of the moon under the Artemis program.
Key objectives include analyzing lunar regolith properties, studying the moon’s geophysical characteristics, investigating interactions between solar winds and Earth’s magnetic field, and evaluating the abilities of a global navigation satellite system.
Blue Ghost launched on January 15 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft has already been sending back some incredible images, including this one of Earth.
The planned touchdown spot is close to a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium, a 500-kilometer-wide basin on the moon’s near side. The mission is designed to operate on the moon’s surface for about 14 Earth days, which is equal to one lunar day.