Blue Ghost on the Moon

Explanation: There's a new lander on the Moon. Yesterday Firefly Aerospace 's Blue Ghost executed the first-ever successful commercial lunar landing. During its planned 60-day mission, Blue Ghost will deploy several NASA-commissioned scientific instruments, including PlanetVac which captures lunar dust after creating a small whirlwind of gas. Blue Ghost will also host the telescope LEXI that captures X-ray images of the Earth's magnetosphere . LEXI data should enable a better understanding of how Earth's magnetic field protects the Earth from the Sun's wind and flare s. Pictured , the shadow of the Blue Ghost lander is visible on the cratered lunar surface , while the glowing orb of the planet Earth hovers just over the horizon. Goals for future robotic Blue Ghost landers include supporting lunar astronauts in NASA's Artemis program , with Artemis III currently scheduled to land humans back on the Moon in 2027.