First High-Definition Sunset Images Captured on Moon
HOUSTON, Texas — NASA and Firefly Aerospace unveiled two stunning high-definition images of a sunset on the moon during a press conference on Tuesday, marking a significant milestone in space exploration.
These photographs, taken by the Blue Ghost lander, were part of a 14-day mission that concluded successfully. The images depict the moon’s horizon glowing as the sun sets, with Earth and Venus visible in the background. The mission is a part of NASA’s $2.6 billion investment in commercial payload operators aimed at supporting the Artemis program, which is slated to return humans to the moon by 2027.
“These are the first high-definition images taken of the sun going down and then going into darkness at the horizon,” said Joel Kearns, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for exploration within the science mission directorate. “The images themselves are beautiful, but I know scientifically-minded folks are eager to analyze them now.”
The lunar horizon glow was first documented by astronaut Eugene Cernan during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. It is believed to be caused by tiny dust particles in the moon’s thin atmosphere that emit light during lunar sunrise and sunset. Some theories posit that these particles may levitate.
Both images were captured as Blue Ghost orbited near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the moon’s northeastern side. The lander was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon rocket on January 15 for a journey spanning approximately 2.8 miles.
“Firefly Aerospace is extremely proud to have accomplished this first fully successful commercial moon landing,” said Jason Kim, the CEO of Firefly Aerospace. “I truly believe Firefly and Blue Ghost’s historic mission will be a new chapter in textbooks and become a beacon of what humanity can achieve.”
Blue Ghost is equipped with technology to carry out several scientific experiments on the lunar surface, including a lunar soil analyzer and a radiation-tolerant computer. The lander was able to take high-definition imagery during a total eclipse on March 14, when Earth obscured the sun from the moon’s horizon.
Despite the successful objectives, the mission faced a setback as the onboard drill only penetrated 3 feet into the lunar surface instead of the planned 10 feet. Engineers are uncertain if the lander can be restarted after the two-week lunar night, where temperatures plummet.
Meanwhile, another private lunar mission by Intuitive Machines ended in failure earlier this month when its Athena probe toppled upon landing.
