‘Blue Ghost Turns Red’: Firefly Aerospace’s Moon Lander Captures Rare Solar Eclipse From the Moon [PHOTOS, VIDEO]

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander has made history by recording a solar eclipse from the Moon’s surface. This marks the first time a commercial company has actively operated on the Moon during such an event, capturing Earth blocking the Sun and casting a shadow across the lunar landscape.

Eclipse from the Moon

In the early hours of 14 March, at approximately 12:30 am CDT, Blue Ghost’s cameras picked up the first glimpse of the eclipse. A glowing ring of light appeared in the reflection of its solar panel as Earth began to move across the Sun. Firefly Aerospace confirmed that further imagery would be transmitted once the lander’s X-band antenna warmed up after enduring the extreme cold of totality. Another image, taken at 3:30 am CDT, shows the “diamond ring” effect as the Sun began to emerge from behind Earth, captured from the Mare Crisium landing site.

‘Blue Ghost Turns Red’

Also, the Blue Ghost lander has captured a stunning view of the Moon bathed in red during the total solar eclipse. In a post on X, Firefly shared imagery taken around 2:30 a.m. CDT, showcasing the eerie red hue caused by sunlight refracting through Earth’s atmosphere as the planet blocked the Sun.

‘You can also spot Mercury (left) and Venus (right) just above the eclipse!’ Firefly Aerospace shared on X.

The images, rapidly captured with varying exposure settings, were stitched into a short clip, revealing the glowing ring of the eclipse reflected on Blue Ghost’s solar panel.

Challenges in Recording

There were several technical difficulties in recording the event. With solar panels unable to generate power in the shadowed environment, Blue Ghost had to rely entirely on battery reserves. On top of this, the deep cold of the lunar night presented risks to both its instruments and communication systems. Even with these obstacles, the lander successfully documented the event, providing a rare perspective of an eclipse from the Moon’s surface.

Blue Ghost & NASA’s CLPS Programme

Blue Ghost’s mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, which aims to advance lunar science and technology through commercial partnerships. NASA’s CLPS programme, which facilitates commercial partnerships for lunar exploration, includes Blue Ghost as one of its missions. NASA provides further information on the programme here. The lander, which touched down in Mare Crisium on 2 March, is equipped with multiple scientific instruments, including NASA’s Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS). While primarily designed to study surface interactions during landing, SCALPSS has also played a key role in capturing celestial events from the Moon.