A private U.S. spacecraft, headed for the moon, has sent back breathtaking images of Earth just a week into its journey.
Currently still orbiting Earth, Firefly Aerospace’s lunar lander fired its thrusters on Thursday to set course for the moon, with plans to arrive in over a month. The spacecraft, named Blue Ghost, transmitted stunning photos and videos of Earth, famously known as the “Blue Marble.” These images were shared by the Texas-based company on Friday.
The lander is carrying scientific experiments for NASA, contributing to the agency’s goal of returning astronauts to the moon within this decade.
Blue Ghost is one of two lunar landers launched from Florida by SpaceX on January 15. It is aiming for a lunar landing on March 2, while the other lander, sponsored by the Japanese company ispace, is taking a longer route, targeting a touchdown in late May or early June.
This marks Firefly’s first mission to the moon, while for ispace, it is their second attempt after their first lander crashed on the moon in 2023. Tokyo-based ispace’s latest lander, named Resilience, is still orbiting Earth and conducting necessary maneuvers to approach the moon.