Lander’s latest mission milestone generates excitement
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander has successfully drilled into the lunar surface, marking a significant milestone in its mission. A video shared by the company captures the moment the lander’s payload extracted and transferred lunar soil, showcasing one of the most anticipated experiments conducted by its Ghostriders team.
According to Firefly, the Lunar PlanetVac system utilized pressurized nitrogen gas to collect, transfer, and sort the lunar regolith. The company celebrated the achievement on social media, posting, “Lunar PlanetVac successfully collected, transferred, and sorted lunar soil from the Moon using pressurized nitrogen gas. Congrats to the @HB_Robotics and NASA team!”
Mission progressing rapidly
Since landing on the Moon on March 2, Blue Ghost has deployed multiple payloads, with eight out of ten already meeting their scientific objectives. “Just over four days on the Moon’s surface, and #BlueGhost is checking off several science milestones!” Firefly posted, highlighting the lander’s ongoing progress.
Part of NASA’s Artemis program
The Blue Ghost mission is a crucial component of NASA’s broader initiative to explore the Moon and prepare for future crewed missions. The Artemis program aims to send astronauts into lunar orbit to assess human adaptability to space environments, ultimately paving the way for the next human landing on the Moon after more than 50 years.
A breathtaking lunar sunrise
Before commencing operations, Blue Ghost captured a stunning image of the lunar sunrise, offering a rare glimpse of the Moon’s surface bathed in early light. The image, widely shared online, has left space enthusiasts in awe.
Meanwhile, NASA’s second private lunar mission, Athena, developed by Intuitive Machines, reached the Moon on March 6. However, its landing was only partially successful, with the spacecraft ending up tilted on its side.
