NASA REVEALS HISTORIC PHOTOS OF LUNAR SUNSET TAKEN BY BLUE GHOST LANDER
On March 2, 2025, Firefly Aerospace achieved a historic landing on the Moon with its Blue Ghost lander. On March 16, following a successful 14-day mission that sent over 119 GB of data back to Earth, it took a record-breaking, high-definition picture of a lunar sunset. At a press briefing held on March 18 at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, NASA and Firefly Aerospace unveiled the stunning photos, some of which even feature distant glows of Earth and Venus.
A solar eclipse occurs when the Earth blocks the Sun, creating a shadow across the lunar surface. This is the first time in history that a private firm has operated on the Moon and seen a solar eclipse. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander tracked variations in lunar dust and radiation levels during this unique occurrence using its Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS), Regolith Adherence Characterization (RAC), and Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS). Blue Ghost stayed in operation for five more hours after sunset, taking pictures to investigate how dust behavior changes when sunlight isn't there.
According to an update from Firefly Aerospace, "these photos, taken from several camera angles and combined into a film, depict a horizon glow that springs to life just above the Moon's surface as the Sun goes down." In the meantime, the group celebrated the momentous occasion on social media by posting the breathtaking images along with the message, "Sunsets hit differently on the Moon!"
In January, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign and CLPS program. On March 2, it delivered ten NASA science equipment on the Moon's northeastern near side near Mons Latreille in Mare Crisium. It conducted experiments, took pictures, and made videos throughout its two-week mission before shutting down because of insufficient solar power.
In a statement, Firefly CEO Jason Kim stated, "We're immensely proud of the demonstrations Blue Ghost enabled, from robotically drilling and gathering science deeper into the lunar surface than ever before to tracking GPS signals on the Moon for the first time." "We would want to express our sincere gratitude to the White House administration and the NASA CLPS effort for providing the foundation for this Firefly mission. Enabling scientific and technological tests that support upcoming expeditions to the moon, Mars, and beyond has been an honor.
These breathtaking images are more than just visually striking, they’re also a valuable tool for NASA’s research on the Moon. Firefly Aerospace says the photos could help scientists determine if lunar dust lifts off the surface due to the Sun’s influence, creating a glow along the horizon. This idea was first suggested by Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan, one of the last people to walk on the Moon back in 1972.