The privately-owned Blue Ghost moon lander, built by Texas-based company Firefly Aerospace, has captured rare views of a lunar eclipse from the moon’s surface, marking an important milestone in space exploration.
The Blue Ghost Lander Captures Rare Views of Lunar Eclipse from Moon’s Surface
The privately-owned Blue Ghost moon lander, built by Texas-based company Firefly Aerospace, has captured rare views of a lunar eclipse from the moon’s surface. On March 13, as Earth’s shadow covered the moon in a total lunar eclipse, Blue Ghost turned its cameras back toward Earth.
The Blue Ghost is a rare atmospheric optical phenomenon where the Moon appears blue due to scattering of light by ice crystals in the atmosphere.
This occurs when the Moon is near the horizon and is low on the sky, causing the light to pass through more of the Earth's atmosphere.
The scattered light gives the Moon a blue hue, making it visible even during the day.
Blue Ghosts are relatively rare and can be seen in polar regions where the atmosphere is filled with ice crystals.
Witnessing an Eclipse from the Lunar Surface
For the first time since November 2022, an American spacecraft has witnessed a total lunar eclipse on the moon’s surface. The event occurred while the lander was deployed instruments and collecting data on the near side of the moon. The Blue Ghost lander captured the ‘diamond ring effect,’ as a single point of sunlight emerged from behind our planet at the end of totality.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, blocking the sunlight that normally reflects off the Moon's surface.
This can only happen during a full moon, when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun.
There are three types of lunar eclipses: penumbral, partial, and total.
Penumbral eclipses occur when the Earth's shadow falls partially over the Moon, causing a subtle darkening of its surface.
Partial eclipses happen when only part of the Moon enters the Earth's shadow.
Total eclipses are the rarest type, where the entire Moon is covered by the Earth's shadow.
A Rare Glimpse of an Eclipse
The total lunar eclipse that manifested as a red moon, also known as the ‘blood moon,’ appeared different from the vantage point of the lunar surface. From Earth, the phenomenon was visible as a red glow. However, for those on the moon, it resembled a total solar eclipse, where our blue planet appears dark, surrounded by a ring of light as it blocks the sun above the moon’s horizon.
Historical Significance
This achievement marks a first for an American commercial company. NASA‘s Surveyor 3 mission, which sent an uncrewed lander to the moon ahead of the arrival of the first American astronauts, became the first to observe a solar eclipse from the lunar surface in April 1967. The Blue Ghost lander follows in these footsteps.
Established in 1958, NASA is a United States government agency responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and space research.
With a workforce of over 17,000 employees, NASA operates several centers across the country, including the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
The agency's primary mission is to drive advances in science and technology through space and aeronautics exploration.
Deployment of Science Instruments
The spacecraft has put eight of its 10 science instruments to work since landing on March 2. These include devices that collect and sort lunar soil, measure heat flow from the moon’s interior, test a form of lunar GPS, and demonstrate dust shielding techniques for future spacecraft. The lander also captured a video of its engine plumes interacting with the lunar surface.
Conclusion
The Blue Ghost lander has successfully witnessed a rare lunar eclipse from the moon’s surface, marking an important milestone in space exploration. This achievement demonstrates the capabilities of commercial companies in advancing scientific knowledge and paving the way for future human missions to the moon under NASA‘s Artemis program.
