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Sunset as seen from the Moon: Last image from the Blue Ghost lunar spacecraft

The commercial lunar spacecraft Blue Ghost (on a mission from NASA) landed on the Moon early in March and has been working the lunar surface powered by solar panels. On March 16th, it lost power as the long lunar night began. It captured a final image of the sunset. Interview comment from Stephanie Werner in the Norwegian forskning.no.

Blue Ghost's last image from the Moon shows the sun's glow in the atmosphere after the sun has set. Photo: Firefly Aerospace

When the 14-day-long lunar night descended on March 16, 2025, the lunar spacecraft Blue Ghost had one last mission: to capture an image of the glow at sunset as seen from the lunar surface. This phenomenon has previously only been observed by Apollo astronauts, described by Apollo 17 astronaut Eugene Cernan in 1972.

The image shows a glow lingering after sunset, where the last sunlight hits moon dust particles that hover in the Moon's atmosphere. NASA and Firefly Aerospace believe they have captured something similar to what Cernan saw in 1972.

Also read about Blue Ghost on NASA's website: NASA Science Continues After Firefly’s First Moon Mission Concludes.

Read the article (in Norwegian)

Dette synet har ingen sett siden 1972, forskning.no, 20.03.2025

Published Mar. 24, 2025 4:01 PM - Last modified Mar. 24, 2025 4:01 PM