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.