While a total lunar eclipse occurred in some regions of the world, a spacecraft on the Moon's surface observed the event from a different angle. The Blue Ghost lander, during the moment when the Sun was completely covered by the Earth, captured the solar eclipse in space as a fiery ring.
Developed by Texas-based private space company Firefly Aerospace, the Blue Ghost has continued to gather data on the Moon's surface since its successful landing on March 2. The spacecraft recorded the moment when the Sun, Earth, and Moon aligned on March 14 at 04:30 local time.
The Blue Ghost also captured the reddish tones formed as sunlight was refracted through Earth's atmosphere and hit the Moon's surface during the eclipse.
Firefly Aerospace engineer Will Coogan stated, "This is the first time a commercial company has been operational on the Moon during an eclipse, capturing high-resolution images. We are very proud of the data we've obtained."
Using an X-band antenna, the company transmitted the images captured by the Blue Ghost back to Earth. The spacecraft operated in complete darkness for nearly five hours during the eclipse, enduring temperatures as low as -100°C.
Coogan added, "Working under these conditions is as challenging as working on the Moon at night. However, our team continues to successfully complete these tough tasks."
The images captured by Blue Ghost represent a milestone, following the first-ever eclipse photos taken from the Moon's surface by NASA's Surveyor 3 spacecraft in 1967.
The team at Firefly Aerospace is now preparing to capture the Moon's sunset. According to NASA, a mysterious glow occurring along the Moon's horizon is caused by electrostatically charged dust particles scattering sunlight. Firefly CEO Jason Kim mentioned that they aim to record this event in 4K resolution and share it with the world.
The Blue Ghost is also collecting data for NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, part of the Artemis program. The spacecraft carries 10 different NASA scientific instruments to study the Moon's surface, including regolith (rock and mineral fragments) and dust layers.
It is expected that Blue Ghost will continue to collect data until the Moon's nightfall and then cease operations due to extreme cold.
