NASA and Firefly Aerospace released the first high-definition pictures of a sunset on the moon on Tuesday, taken before the Blue Ghost lander fell silent over the weekend.
The images, shared on Firefly Aerospace's official X handle, featured close-up shots of the moon's surface. One showed the setting sun on the moon's horizon. Another showed a view of planet Earth from the distance, while Venus appeared in the third.
The side note read, "Sunsets hit differently on the Moon! More images below of the horizon glow that comes to life just above the Moon's surface as the sun goes down. This milestone embodies all the achievements from this historic Firefly mission. Thank you #BlueGhost for the final goodbye. Until next time! #BGM1."
Earlier, Blue Ghost captured high-definition images of the lunar sunrise. NASA shared the breathtaking image on X, showing the moon's uneven surface with deep craters and the Sun's rays beaming brightly in the distance.
Blue Ghost set off on its journey from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, US on January 15. It landed on the Moon, shortly after 3:34 am US Eastern Time (0834 GMT) on March 2.
Nicknamed "Ghost Riders in the Sky," the mission is part of a NASA-industry partnership aimed at reducing costs and supporting Artemis, the programme designed to return astronauts to the Moon.
As part of its journey, Blue Ghost spent approximately 25 days in Earth orbit, four days in lunar transit, then 16 days in lunar orbit.
After its successful landing on Mare Crisium, Blue Ghost operated 10 NASA payloads for a complete lunar day, which is roughly 14 days on Earth. The findings from this mission is expected to support several science and technology demonstrations such as sample collection, X-ray imaging, lunar subsurface drilling and dust mitigation.
