Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 is set to touch down on the Moon’s Mare Crisium on March 2, following a final lunar orbit maneuver.
The mission, carrying 10 NASA instruments, has already made history by tracking GNSS signals in lunar orbit.
Mission Countdown and Orbital Maneuvers
Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 is just one week away from its scheduled Moon landing on Sunday, March 2, following its launch on January 15. As it prepares for touchdown, the lander will complete its final lunar orbit maneuver on Monday, February 24.
This maneuver will place Blue Ghost into a low, near-circular orbit, bringing it closer to the lunar surface. About one hour before landing, the spacecraft will execute its Descent Orbit Insertion burn, beginning its descent toward Mare Crisium, a basin on the near side of the Moon.
Live Broadcast Details
NASA and Firefly will provide live coverage of the landing, starting at 2:30 a.m. EST on NASA+, approximately 75 minutes before touchdown. The event will also stream on Firefly’s YouTube channel, and updates will be shared through NASA’s social media and blog platforms as key descent milestones unfold.
Instrument Readiness and Early Achievements
All 10 NASA instruments on board are in good condition and prepared to operate on the Moon’s surface. Some payloads have already gathered significant data during transit. Two notable achievements so far include:
The Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) acquired and tracked Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals for the first time in lunar orbit – a new record! This achievement, peaking at 246,000 miles, suggests that Earth-based GNSS constellations can be used for navigation in transit to, around, and potentially on the Moon. It also demonstrates the power of using multiple GNSS constellations together, such as GPS and Galileo, to perform navigation. After lunar landing, LuGRE will operate for 14 days and attempt to break another record – first reception of GNSS signals on the lunar surface.
The Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager, or LEXI, telescope was turned on successfully shortly after launch on Jan. 15. The instrument has operated for several hours every day conducting checkouts and initial commissioning, operating for a total of more than 50 hours so far in preparation for collecting images from the lunar surface.
Never miss a breakthrough: Join the SciTechDaily newsletter.
Follow us on Google and Google News.