Elon Musk’s SpaceX has successfully launched two spacecraft on their mission to land on the Moon. The Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the robotic Blue Ghost and Resilience landers, lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1.11am (EST).
This mission, dubbed “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” is the third such lunar mission launched by SpaceX and is set to take humanity one step closer to lunar exploration, with the long-term goal of making life multiplanetary.
The Blue Ghost lander, built by Firefly Aerospace, is carrying 10 NASA science payloads aimed at advancing lunar exploration. These experiments will test subsurface drilling technology, regolith sample collection capabilities, and radiation-tolerant computing, among other technologies.
The mission will involve a 45-day journey to the Moon, followed by a landing in the Mare Crisium region near Mons Latreille. Blue Ghost will then operate on the lunar surface for around 14 Earth days, conducting scientific experiments before the lunar night halts its operations.
Blue Ghost is equipped with systems for shock absorption, stability, and navigation. Its components, such as avionics, batteries, and thrusters, are based on technologies proven in previous space missions, ensuring reliability and reducing costs.
The spacecraft is designed to capture high-resolution imagery and offer valuable insights into the Moon’s surface and its environment during lunar dusk conditions.
