Blue Ghost has left Earth’s orbit, carrying NASA’s science to the Moon. Instruments are performing well, including a radiation-hardened computer, a magnetic field detector, and a lunar soil collection system. The mission is a crucial step for future Artemis lunar explorations.
Firefly’s Blue Ghost spacecraft, carrying NASA science and technology, has successfully left Earth’s orbit following a Trans Lunar Injection (TLI) burn on Saturday, February 8. It is now on a four-day journey to lunar orbit, where it will remain for approximately 16 days before beginning its descent to the Moon’s surface. Since its launch over three weeks ago, Blue Ghost has completed dozens of health tests, transmitting 13 gigabytes of data. All 10 NASA payloads onboard are functioning as expected and are prepared for operations on the lunar surface.
Testing Space Tech: Radiation-Proof Computing
One of these payloads, NASA’s Radiation Tolerant Computer (RadPC), developed by Montana State University, successfully operated while passing through Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts. This test provides valuable data on protecting computers from space radiation, a challenge future Artemis astronauts will face.
Probing the Moon’s Magnetic Secrets
Another key instrument, NASA’s Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS), developed by the Southwest Research Institute, detected changes in magnetic fields during an on-orbit health check. This confirms that LMS is functioning properly and will be able to measure the Moon’s magnetic and electrical fields, offering new insights into the temperature and composition of the lunar interior.
Lunar Soil Collection: A New Approach
Also during a health check, Firefly and NASA teams captured data and an interior image of the sample container a from NASA’s Lunar PlanetVac (LPV), indicating the payload is operational in advance of surface operations on the Moon. The LPV payload is a technology demonstration that is designed to efficiently collect and transfer lunar soil from the surface to other science instruments or sample return containers without reliance on gravity.
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