Impressive images of the moon captured by the Blue Ghost spacecraft

Mesmerizing images of the moon were captured by the Blue Ghost spacecraft that entered lunar orbit on February 13.

Specifically, according to CNNi, the video includes a close-up of the far side of the moon, an area not visible from Earth, and was taken after Blue Ghost transitioned from a high elliptical orbit to a lower one – about 120 kilometers above the surface – as announced last week by Texas-based company Firefly Aerospace.

See the impressive images he captured

https://x.com/Firefly_Space/status/1891865085380796662?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1891865085380796662%7Ctwgr%5E6b6b587ce9db39e2b1a2ce08b08a4ab32fbb315a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.gr%2Fkosmos%2Fstory%2F464512%2Fentyposiakes-eikones-tou-feggarioy-kategrapse-to-diastimiko-skafos-blue-ghost

The spacecraft also captured stunning images of a region of the lunar south pole.

"The latest images from the Moon captured by Firefly's Blue Ghost are completely surreal," said Blue Ghost's deputy chief engineer.

https://x.com/Firefly_Space/status/1894044670570762301?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1894044670570762301%7Ctwgr%5E6b6b587ce9db39e2b1a2ce08b08a4ab32fbb315a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.gr%2Fkosmos%2Fstory%2F464512%2Fentyposiakes-eikones-tou-feggarioy-kategrapse-to-diastimiko-skafos-blue-ghost

"Of course, we had an idea of ​​what the images would look like, but seeing the actual footage of the craters and boulders of the Moon from our own spacecraft is very inspiring and really makes us realize how close we are to our ultimate goal after all the hard work we have put into this mission," he added.

Program objectives

The private American spacecraft left Earth orbit on February 8, before making a multi-day journey to reach the Moon.

Currently, Blue Ghost is about halfway through its 16-day orbit around the moon and will attempt a landing on the lunar surface on March 2.

The craft is carrying 10 NASA science and technology instruments as part of the space agency's Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS, program. CLPS is part of NASA's broader Artemis program, which aims to send astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

What NASA said in a post about the Artemis program

After Blue Ghost lands on the moon, the instruments will operate for more than two weeks to collect data primarily on the moon's subsurface.

"Robotic missions like the Blue Ghost mission are performing scientific experiments, testing technologies, and exploring capabilities on and around the Moon in preparation for astronaut missions to the lunar surface and ultimately crewed missions to Mars," NASA said in a post about the Artemis program.

Source: cnn.gr