Latest news with #JoelKearns
The Independent
19-03-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Sunset seen on the moon in groundbreaking images taken by Blue Ghost lunar lander
A private lunar lander has made history by capturing the first high-definition images of a sunset on the moon. Firefly Aerospace and Nasa unveiled the photos on Tuesday, showcasing a breathtaking view that includes Venus shimmering in the distance. The images were transmitted shortly before the Blue Ghost lander fell silent over the weekend. It had touched down on the lunar surface on March 2, becoming the only private spacecraft to successfully land upright and execute its complete mission. Over the past two weeks – the equivalent of one lunar day – it has beamed about 120 gigabytes of data back to Earth and drilled into the moon's surface to measure ground temperatures. After the sunset, it continued to capture images and gather scientific data for five hours into the lunar night before running out of solar energy and falling silent. Nasa's Joel Kearns said that Blue Ghost's sunset series represents the first high-resolution images of a sunset from the moon. Scientists are particularly intrigued by a horizon glow captured in at least one photo, potentially caused by levitating lunar dust. That theory was first proposed by Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan, the last person to walk on the lunar surface over 50 years ago. Further analysis will be needed to determine the exact nature of the glow. "What we've got is a really beautiful, aesthetic image showing some really unusual features," Mr Kearns said during a news conference. As part of Nasa's commercial lunar delivery program, Blue Ghost carried out 10 scientific experiments. While all mission objectives were ultimately met, the lander's on-board drill encountered unexpected resistance, reaching a depth of only three feet (one metre) instead of the planned 10 feet (three metres). Firefly said it will try to activate the lunar lander in early April following the lunar night, which lasts for two weeks and is bitterly cold. However, engineers are doubtful that it will crank back up.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Sunset on the moon seen in stunning images taken by lunar lander
A lunar lander has completed its two-week mission and sent spectacular sunset images as a "final goodbye" back to Earth. The Blue Ghost Mission 1 lander was launched by Firefly Aerospace in mid-January and landed on the moon on March 2. It was the first successful commercial moon landing. The lander delivered 10 NASA science and delivery payloads to the Mare Crisium basin, which is a lava-flooded region on the near side of the moon formed by an asteroid impact. The payloads were delivered as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services and Artemis programs, NASA said in a news release, and were used to collect data and perform other scientific operations on the moon. While making the deliveries, the Blue Ghost lander experienced one lunar day. During the course of that day, it captured several images and videos. It imaged a total solar eclipse from the surface of the moon and also took pictures of the sunset. In a post on social media, Firefly Aerospace referred to the sunset picture as the lander's farewell. "Sunsets hit differently on the Moon!" the company wrote, alongside several photos, including those of the sunset and the eclipse. "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!" During the mission, the lander transmitted 119 gigabytes of data back to Earth, NASA said. The instruments carried by the lander performed many first-of-their kind science and technology demonstrations, including starting the moon's deepest robotic planetary subsurface thermal probe and using an X-ray imager to study the interaction of solar wind and the Earth's magnetic field. "Operating on the Moon is complex; carrying 10 payloads, more than has ever flown on a (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) delivery before, makes the mission that much more impressive," Joel Kearns, the deputy associate administrator for exploration at NASA's, Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement. "Teams are eagerly analyzing their data, and we are extremely excited for the expected scientific findings that will be gained from this mission." This mission set a record for the longest commercial mission, NASA said. The Commercial Lunar Payload Services is set to send more than 50 instruments to various parts of the moon, the space agency said. Sneak peek: The Puzzling Death of Susann Sills Inside Trump's call with Vladimir Putin 100 years since deadliest tornado in U.S. history
CBS News
19-03-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Sunset on the moon seen in spectacular images taken by Blue Ghost lander
A lunar lander has completed its two-week mission and sent spectacular sunset images as a "final goodbye" back to Earth. The Blue Ghost Mission 1 lander was launched by Firefly Aerospace in mid-January and landed on the moon on March 2. It was the first successful commercial moon landing . The lander delivered 10 NASA science and delivery payloads to the Mare Crisium basin, which is a lava-flooded region on the near side of the moon formed by an asteroid impact. Those payloads will be used to collect data and perform other scientific operations on the moon, NASA said in a news release . The payloads are delivered as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services and Artemis programs, the space agency said. While making the deliveries, the Blue Ghost lander experienced one lunar day. During the course of that day, it captured several images and videos. It imaged a total solar eclipse from the surface of the moon and also took pictures of the sunset. In a post on social media , Firefly Aerospace referred to the sunset picture as the lander's farewell. "Sunsets hit differently on the Moon!" the company wrote, alongside several photos, including those of the sunset and the eclipse. "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!" During the mission, the lander transmitted 119 gigabytes of data back to Earth, NASA said. The instruments carried by the lander performed many first-of-their kind science and technology demonstrations, including starting the moon's deepest robotic planetary subsurface thermal probe and using an X-ray imager to study the interaction of solar wind and the Earth's magnetic field. "Operating on the Moon is complex; carrying 10 payloads, more than has ever flown on a (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) delivery before, makes the mission that much more impressive," Joel Kearns, the deputy associate administrator for exploration at NASA's, Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement. "Teams are eagerly analyzing their data, and we are extremely excited for the expected scientific findings that will be gained from this mission." This mission set a record for the longest commercial mission, NASA said. The Commercial Lunar Payload Services is set to send more than 50 instruments to various parts of the moon, the space agency said.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Nasa releases first high-def images of sunset on the moon
Nasa has released the first high-definition images of a sunset on the moon, two striking photographs taken by the private lander Blue Ghost that could offer scientists further clues to the mysterious phenomenon known as lunar horizon glow. The agency presented the images to a press conference on Tuesday at Houston's Johnson space center, marking the conclusion of a 14-day mission conducted in partnership with Texas company Firefly Aerospace. The commercial lander, which touched down on 2 March near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the moon's north-eastern near side, is part of a $2.6bn investment by Nasa in commercial payload operators aiming to cut costs and support Artemis, the program scheduled to return humans to the moon in 2027. The two images, taken to the west and with Earth and Venus also visible, show the spread of the glow along moon's horizon as the sun appears about halfway set. '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, science mission directorate. 'The images themselves are beautiful, they're really aesthetic, but I know there are a bunch of folks looking at them now that study the moon … Now its time for the specialists in the field to examine it and compare it to the other data we have from the mission and see what conclusions they can propose and draw from.' Lunar horizon glow was first documented by the astronaut Eugene Cernan, one of the last two men to set foot on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Subsequent observations concluded that the phenomenon was due to tiny dust particles in the moon's thin atmosphere glowing at lunar sunrise and sunset, while some theories suggest the particles levitated. Blue Ghost also captured high-definition imagery of a total eclipse on 14 March, when the Earth blocked the sun from the moon's horizon. A SpaceX Falcon rocket launched the lander, which is about the size of a hippopotamus, on a 2.8-mile journey on 15 January. Blue Ghost was carrying an array of scientific experiments, including a lunar soil analyzer, a radiation-tolerant computer and an experiment testing the feasibility of using the existing global satellite navigation system to navigate the moon. 'Firefly Aerospace is extremely proud to have accomplished this first fully successful commercial moon landing,' Jason Kim, the company's chief executive, said. '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.' A separate mission by a private company to land a spacecraft carrying scientific equipment on the moon ended in failure earlier this month when the Athena probe launched by Intuitive Machines toppled upon landing and was declared dead.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Ghostly lunar sunsets shot by private lander
A private US lander has captured eerie high-definition images of a lunar sunset, which NASA hopes will help unravel the mystery of a strange haze first observed on the Moon in the 1960s. Texas-based Firefly Aerospace, which published the pictures on Tuesday, became the first private company to land a robotic spacecraft upright on the Moon earlier this month. Its Blue Ghost lander -- roughly the size of two rhinos side by side -- touched down on March 2 at Mons Latreille, a volcanic feature within Mare Crisium on the Moon's northeastern near side, and operated until March 16 when it powered down with the onset of the lunar night. One of the new images shows the Sun glowing just above the horizon, its halo tinged with green. Above it, a small dot marks Venus, while Earth's bright reflection appears almost as large as the Sun at the top of the frame. Another view reveals the setting Sun bathed in a green glow, as seen from a west-facing camera. "We are taking time to have scientific specialists go over all the imagery," said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration at NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "One of the things they will be looking for is to see if they can identify 'horizon glow' or a mechanism called 'dust lofting.'" Scientists believe lunar dust particles may become electrically charged due to ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, causing them to levitate above the surface. The phenomenon was first spotted by NASA's Surveyor probes in the 1960s and later observed by Apollo astronauts. Kearns noted that scientists will compare the images with complementary readings from Blue Ghost's instruments, including electromagnetic field and radiation sensors, to refine existing theories. "The images themselves are beautiful, they're really aesthetic," he said. The west-facing image, in particular, shows soil in front of the lander illuminated by light reflected from mountains behind it. The picture's level of detail could help scientists refine models of how light scatters on the lunar surface. Earlier in the mission, Blue Ghost also captured high-definition imagery of a total solar eclipse from the Moon on March 14. The mission was part of a NASA-industry collaboration aimed at cutting costs and supporting Artemis, the program to return astronauts to the Moon and use lessons learned there to go to Mars. Firefly Aerospace's spaceflight program director, Ray Allensworth, said the company is already applying lessons to future flights, including Blue Ghost-2 and Blue Ghost-3. "The lander is absolutely not designed to survive the extreme cold of lunar night, so I think the probability is very low that we will power back on -- but this lander has surprised me," she added. ia/jgc
