Adapted by:
Pablo Martínez-Juarez
WriterEnvironmental economist and science journalist. For a few years, I worked as a researcher on the economics of climate change adaptation. Now I write about that and much more.
Karen Alfaro
WriterCommunications professional with a decade of experience as a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. As a travel and science journalist, I've collaborated with several print and digital outlets around the world. I'm passionate about culture, music, food, history, and innovative technologies.
Fifty years after the last crewed mission to the Moon, NASA and other space agencies have renewed their interest in lunar exploration. For the U.S. agency, this return has been bittersweet. In addition to the recurring setbacks of the Artemis program, there have been the accidental arrivals of private American probes.
But even here, there are exceptions.
Sunset on the Moon. The first mission of the Blue Ghost lander module from Firefly Aerospace has produced a series of images showing the sunset on the Moon. The photos are not only striking but may also help answer a question that has lingered since the Apollo era.
A mystery to be solved. The uncertainty revolves around the phenomenon known as lunar horizon glow, which relates to dust on the Moon’s surface. NASA’s Surveyor 7 mission, which reached the Moon in late 1968, documented this phenomenon. Astronauts on Apollo 17, the last crewed lunar mission, also recorded it.
Data collected by the spacecraft could help experts determine whether the glow is caused by tiny lunar dust particles floating above the surface. It may also provide insight into what causes this levitation in the Moon’s nearly nonexistent atmosphere. The leading hypothesis suggests solar radiation electrically charges the particles, making them repel one another and rise.
The halo. The images capture this unique luminous halo for the first time in decades, showing a greenish glow from lunar dust in the twilight.
From eclipse to sunset. On March 2, Blue Ghost landed in the Mare Crisium region, becoming the first private mission to reach the Moon. The mission operated for 14 days—covering only the daylight portion of the lunar cycle—until a few hours after sunset.
The mission carried 10 NASA experiment payloads. During its operation, it sent 119 GB of data back to Earth, including 51 GB of technological and scientific data, according to NASA.
During these 14 days, the mission also captured a rare event: the March 14 lunar eclipse. Seen from the Moon, this was actually a solar eclipse caused by Earth passing between the Moon and the Sun.
CLPS. Firefly Aerospace’s mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and the Artemis campaign. CLPS seeks private-sector partnerships to support NASA’s lunar exploration efforts.
Lunar missions under this initiative have faced more setbacks than successes. Of the four missions launched so far, only one has landed on the Moon with full operational capability.
Image | Firefly Aerospace
Log in to leave a comment