2025年3月3日
Blue Ghost on the Moon
Image Credit: Firefly Aerospace
Explanation: There’s a new lander on the Moon. Yesterday Firefly Aerospace‘s Blue Ghost executed the first-ever successful commercial lunar landing. During its planned 60-day mission, Blue Ghost will deploy several NASA-commissioned scientific instruments, including PlanetVac which captures lunar dust after creating a small whirlwind of gas. Blue Ghost will also host the telescope LEXI that captures X-ray images of the Earth’s magnetosphere. LEXI data should enable a better understanding of how Earth’s magnetic field protects the Earth from the Sun’s wind and flares. Pictured, the shadow of the Blue Ghost lander is visible on the cratered lunar surface, while the glowing orb of the planet Earth hovers just over the horizon. Goals for future robotic Blue Ghost landers include supporting lunar astronauts in NASA’s Artemis program, with Artemis III currently scheduled to land humans back on the Moon in 2027.
Tomorrow’s picture: quadruple alignment
月球上的蓝幽灵登月器
影像提供: Firefly Aerospace 萤火虫太空公司
说明: 月球新来了一艘登月器。 在昨天，萤火虫太空公司的蓝幽灵登月器，成为史上首艘成功着陆月球的商业登月器。在其预定的60天任务期间，蓝幽灵号将布署多部美国国家航空航天局委托的科学仪器，其中包括能产生气流、扬起并收集月尘的行星吸尘器（PlanetVac），以及使用登月器塔载的LEXI望远镜，拍摄地球磁层的X射线影像，而所取得的LEXI数据，可协助科学家深入了解地球磁场如何保护地球免于受到太阳风与闪陷/耀斑的冲击。在上面这幅影像里，可清楚见到蓝幽灵登月器投射在坑凹月表的影子，而明亮的地球则低悬在月球地平线的上方。未来世代的蓝幽灵登月器之任务目标，包括支援美国国家航空航天局阿尔忒弥斯计划于月表活动的宇航员。目前，阿尔忒弥斯3号任务规划于2027年，再次把人类送上月球。
明日的图片: quadruple alignment
