The sunset images on the moon are more than a curiosity. They will also help us solve an old mystery

50 years after the last manned mission to the moon, NASA and other space agencies in the world have renewed their interest in exploration In situ of the satellite In the case of the US agency, this return to the moon has been bittersweet. To the recurring transpiés of the Artemis program The injured arrivals from American private probes are added.

There are also exceptions here.

Sunset on the moon. The first module mission Blue Ghost From the company Texana Firefly Aerospace has brought us A sequence of images They show us the sunset on the moon. The images are not only striking but can help us solve a question that persecutes us from the era of the Apollo missions.

An enigma to solve. The doubt in question revolves around the phenomenon known as “Lunar horizon glow” (Lunar Horizon Glow) and is related to the dust of the satellite surface. This phenomenon was documented by THE SURVEYOR 7 MISSION that he arrived at the satellite at the end of 1968 and was also captured by the astronauts of the last manned lunar mission, Apollo 17.

The data compiled by the probe could help us to inquire if this glow is due to the existence of small polka dust particles in suspension on the lunar surface and investigate in the phenomenon that would be causing this levitation in a place with a practically non -existent atmosphere such as the moon. The main hypothesis indicates that these particles could be electrically charged by the effect of solar radiation, which would make them repel with each other and thus levitate.

Halo. The images show us for the first time in decades this unique luminous halo. In the photographs, the greenish glow caused by lunar dust in the lunar dusk can be seen.

From eclipse to sunset. On March 2, the Blue Ghost module landed in the Mare Crisium de Luna region becoming the First private mission in reaching the satellite. The mission operated for 14 days, the strictly daytime part of the lunar day, that is, until a few hours later the dusk we see in the image.

The mission brought 10 charges to the moon NASA experiments. During his activity period he sent 119 GB of data to Earth, of which 51 GB correspond to technological and scientific data, According to NASA.

In those 14 days the mission too He could capture A unique event: the lunar eclipse of March 14. With unique detail: from the moon what was appreciated was an eclipse of sun caused when our planet interposed between the satellite and light in those 14 days the mission could also capture a unique event: the lunar eclipse of last March 14. With unique detail: from the moon what was appreciated was an eclipse of sun caused when our planet interposed between the satellite and light of the sun.

CLPS The Firefly Aerospace mission is part of the Clps initiative (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) from NASA and the Artemis campaign. This program seeks that private companies cooperate with NASA in lunar exploration in order to outsource part of the agency’s efforts in this corner of the universe.

The lunar missions framed in this initiative have been arriving with more grief than glory to our satellite. Only one of the four Missions launched to date has managed to land in the satellite with the ability to operate normally.

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Image | Firefly Aerospace