Firefly Aerospace, a private U.S. spacecraft, has captured stunning images of Earth one week into its flight. The lunar lander, named Blue Ghost, is currently circling Earth and has fired its thrusters to set it on a path towards the moon, with a planned touchdown on March 2. The spacecraft has beamed back photos and videos of Earth, known as the Blue Marble.
Based in Cedar Park, Texas, Firefly Aerospace released the images on Friday. Blue Ghost is carrying experiments for NASA as part of the space agency’s mission to return astronauts to the moon within this decade. This mission is the first moonshot for Firefly Aerospace.
Blue Ghost is one of two lunar landers launched from Florida by SpaceX on January 15. The other lander, sponsored by the Japanese company ispace, is taking a longer route and is expected to land on the moon in late May or early June. ispace, after crashing its first lander into the moon in 2023, has named its latest lander Resilience, which is currently orbiting Earth and making maneuvers to reach the moon.
Firefly Aerospace’s successful capture of stunning images of Earth and its journey towards the moon marks an exciting milestone in ongoing efforts to explore outer space. With planned landings on the moon in the coming months, the mission holds promise for further advancements in space exploration and scientific research.
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Note: The image is for illustrative purposes only and is not the original image of the presented article.