NASA shared a breathtaking image of a lunar sunrise late Monday night. The image, captured by Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1, marks the beginning of a new lunar day and two weeks of scientific and technological activities on the Moon’s surface. NASA had earlier shared the first image sent by the lander shortly after it landed on the Moon.
“It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, and we’re feeling good. @Firefly_Space’s Blue Ghost lander witnessed lunar sunrise—the start of a new day on the Moon and two weeks of activities, including a lunar eclipse (from the Moon’s perspective) and lunar sunset. Let’s go!” NASA posted on X (formerly Twitter), sharing the second image from the Blue Ghost mission.
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, and we’re feeling good.
@Firefly_Space‘s Blue Ghost lander witnessed lunar sunrise—the start of a new day on the Moon and two weeks of activities, including a lunar eclipse (from the Moon’s perspective) and lunar sunset. Let’s go! pic.twitter.com/fNbgv9FuDo
— NASA (@NASA) March 3, 2025
The lunar lander successfully touched down at 3.34 am EST (2.04 pm IST) on Sunday near Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium, a vast, 300-mile-wide basin on the Moon’s near side. The landing, part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and Artemis campaign, marks Firefly Aerospace’s first Moon landing. According to NASA, the Blue Ghost lander was in an upright and stable configuration when it landed, ready to carry out its scientific mission.
Following the touchdown, the lander transmitted its first image — a hazy view of the lunar surface — shortly after confirmation of its successful landing. This image set the stage for further data collection and technological demonstrations over the next 14 Earth days, equivalent to one lunar day.
POV you’re a Moon lander
This is the first image from @Firefly_Space‘s Blue Ghost Mission 1, which touched down today, delivering 10 NASA instruments to the lunar surface. https://t.co/U8Ey9efX6k pic.twitter.com/UajVHzCaXf
— NASA (@NASA) March 2, 2025
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Lunar Eclipse, Lunar Sunset To Watch Out For
Since launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 15, the Blue Ghost lander has travelled more than 2.8 million miles, downlinked over 27 GB of data, and supported numerous scientific operations, according to the space agency. One of the mission’s highlights was a record-breaking signal tracking from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) at a distance of 246,000 miles using the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment payload. This demonstrated the feasibility of using Earth-based positioning systems on the Moon.
“This incredible achievement demonstrates how NASA and American companies are leading the way in space exploration for the benefit of all,” said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro. He added: “We have already learned many lessons – and the technological and science demonstrations onboard Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 will improve our ability to not only discover more science, but to ensure the safety of our spacecraft instruments for future human exploration – both in the short term and long term.”
Other scientific operations to be undertaken during the journey include radiation-tolerant computing through the Van Allen Belts using the Radiation-Tolerant Computer System payload, and measuring magnetic field changes in space with the Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder payload.
With the lunar sunrise marking the start of an eventful mission phase, scientists anticipate valuable insights into lunar science and technology advancements. The coming days will include a rare lunar eclipse, observed from the Moon’s perspective, and eventually, a lunar sunset before the lander ceases operations.
