Eclipse Captured From the Moon By the Blue Ghost Lander

An Eclipse captured from the moon’s perspective by the Blue Ghost Lander displaying a “diamond ring” effect. (Credits: Firefly Aerospace)

"This marks the first time in history a commercial company was actively operating on the moon and able to observe a total solar eclipse where the Earth blocks the sun and casts a shadow of the lunar surface,” writes Firefly Aerospace in their announcement of this achievement. “This phenomenon occurred simultaneously as the lunar eclipse we witnessed on Earth.”

On March 14, at 4:30 am EDT, the “Blue Ghost” moon lander built by Texas-based space exploration company, Firefly Aerospace, captured rare images of a lunar eclipse from the surface of the moon. 

The Earth’s shadow covered the moon in a total lunar eclipse, giving rise to a  “diamond ring” as a single point of sunlight shone through from behind Earth.

The Blue Ghost Lander is the second-ever spacecraft from a privately funded company to reach the moon. Only five nations have succeeded in soft-landings in the past: the Soviet Union, the United States of America, China, India, and Japan, marking this moment as “one for the history books,” as per Dr. Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator at NASA. This lander is equipped with 10 scientific payloads and used 21 thrusters on its journey to the northeast corner of the moon.

Since its landing, the spacecraft has used eight of its ten science instruments. These include a device that uses pressurized nitrogen gas to collect/sort lunar soil to bring back to Earth for scientific research and a dust shield that helps keep the lander clean from the moon soil.

The aerospace community anxiously awaits updates from the Blue Lander, as all are excited to see what advancements this device can bring to aerospace science and how its discoveries can change our view of space and the moon as a whole.