Blue Ghost: The Silent Moon Mission That Ended After Two Weeks

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — It’s lights out for the first private lunar lander to pull off a fully successful moon mission .

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander fell silent over the weekend, wrapping up two weeks of science experiments for NASA. The end came as the sun set at the moon, no longer providing energy for the lander’s solar panels .

“Mission is completed,” Firefly CEO Jason Kim said via X late Sunday night. "But the Ghost still lives on in our hearts and minds for the journey it’s taken us on!"

The lander operated five hours into the lunar night as planned before it died Sunday evening. Photos of the lunar sunset and glow will be released on Tuesday, Kim said.

Blue Ghost launched from Cape Canaveral in January as part of NASA’s commercial lunar delivery program. It landed at the moon’s far northeastern edge on March 2. It carried a drill, vacuum and other science and tech instruments for NASA. Firefly confirmed Monday that all 10 experiments worked.

Late last week, Blue Ghost observed a total solar eclipse from the moon — a total lunar eclipse as seen from Earth.

The Texas-based Firefly became the first private company to land on the moon without falling or crashing after a string of failed missions by other companies over the past few years. Only five countries — the United States, Russia, China, India and Japan — have achieved a successful landing.

A Japanese firm’s lunar lander hitched a ride on a SpaceX rocket but opted for a more extended journey to reach the moon. The ispace lander is aiming for an early June landing.

A different Texan firm, Intuitive Machines, recently found itself halted inside a crater close to the lunar south pole, thereby jeopardizing the mission. This marks their second unsuccessful endeavor. Their initial spacecraft had previously returned the U.S. to the Moon last year—the nation’s return trip since the Apollo days—despite an imperfect touchdown that interfered with communication capabilities.

Firefly is currently developing its next lunar lander with the aim of achieving at least one moon landing per year.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group along with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. However, the AP maintains full responsibility for the content produced.

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India Leads Four Nations in Revolutionary Satellite Docking Demonstrations, Says ISRO Chief

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [ India ], March 15 (ANI): India has become part of a select club comprising four countries that have successfully showcased the sophisticated technology satellite docking and un docking , India In space research organization ( ISRO ) Chairman Dr V Narayanan said on Friday following the successful completion of the SpaDEx (Space Docking Experiment) mission.

" India is now among the four nations globally to have achieved both docking and un docking technology," Narayanan told reporters.

When reminiscing about the organization's preparatory efforts prior to the mission, Narayanan stated that they conducted more than 120 computer simulations to ensure everything would go smoothly without any errors throughout the mission.

"On January 16, we achieved something significant; we successfully connected both the satellite Together, they were spinning as one unit. Next, we aimed to split them apart, the unrotated portion. docking We conducted numerous studies and analyses, developed a simulator, and performed 120 simulations to ensure accuracy. Our efforts culminated in success during our initial try when, on March 13th at 9:20 AM, everything went according to plan without any errors. docking process," the ISRO chairman said.

On January 16, ISRO Scientists successfully showcased their spacecraft. docking ability by docking two satellite s launched under SpaDex.

When asked about India In the realm of manned missions' future, the ISRO chairman highlighted that they glean insights from minor obstacles: "Every little setback, whether ours or someone else’s, provides us with valuable lessons. Given the complexity of this technology, learning is constant for us. Regardless of these challenges, we address them diligently, and our team remains assured about the level of commitment involved." India Scientists are something else.

Narayanan also disclosed another significant accomplishment of the space organization, mentioning that they had successfully tested the C32 cryogenic propulsion system, a technology previously withheld from them. India by multiple countries.

Significantly, we've created the C 32 cryogenically propelled system, and everyone needs to understand that this advanced technology was previously inaccessible. India By other nations, and we started with small steps. Now, we have created three cryogenic stages," the ISRO chairman told reporters.

We've conducted successful tests lasting 100 seconds. This marks another technological advancement that numerous countries lack. Two decades ago, this was an extremely challenging technology, but now it has become more accessible. ISRO ," he added.

The un docking The process entailed a meticulous series of occurrences, leading up to the detachment of the SDX-01 (Chaser) and SDX-02 (Target). satellite These satellites were launched on December 30, 2024, utilizing the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C60 from the Satish Dhwan Space Centre located in Sriharikota.

The process included the successful extension of SDX-2, the planned release of Capture Lever 3, and the disengagement of the Capture Lever in SDX-2. After these maneuvers, the decapture command was issued in both SDX-1 and SDX-2, leading to the successful separation of the satellite s.

The SpaDeX spacecraft was developed and brought to fruition by the UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), assisted by several other entities. ISRO centers (VSSC, LPSC, SAC, IISU, and LEOS). (ANI)

Provided by Syndigate Media Inc. ( Syndigate.info ).

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