Experience a close-up view of the moon’s surface with the latest footage from the Blue Ghost in low lunar orbit.

      Just before a scheduled lunar landing this weekend, Firefly Aerospace has released more captivating footage from its Blue Ghost mission. The spacecraft is currently in a low lunar orbit, flying at an altitude of 60 miles above the moon's surface, and has recorded a stunning video while gliding over it.

      "During its third lunar orbit maneuver on February 24, Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander captured extraordinary footage of the Moon, successfully placing the spacecraft in a near-circular low lunar orbit," Firefly stated in an update. "The following video, which is accelerated by 10X, was filmed approximately 100 km above the moon’s surface, revealing the far side of the Moon and offering a top-down view of the Blue Ghost’s RCS thrusters (in the center) along with radiator panels on either side. The radiator panels are functioning properly to shield Blue Ghost’s subsystems from extreme temperatures."

      The spacecraft is set to attempt landing on Sunday, March 2, aiming for a soft touchdown on a region of the moon known as Mare Crisium. The descent will take about one hour, creating a tense moment as the craft navigates potential hazards like boulders and craters to land safely. Once on the moon, the spacecraft will conduct scientific observations and technological tests over a two-week period, which will include instruments supplied by universities and NASA.

      Over the past six weeks following its launch on January 15, Blue Ghost has captured remarkable footage of Earth from space, the approaching moon, and views of Earth rising and setting behind the moon. This latest video provides the mission's closest glimpse of the moon's surface, highlighting its deep craters, basins, mountains, and ridges.

      The moon's surface appears particularly striking due to its lack of atmosphere, which means there are no winds to erode features and no tectonic activity to recycle rocks. Consequently, the history of impacts from various-sized meteorites is visible across the surface, offering insights into the moon's and the solar system's history.

      The Blue Ghost mission will land on the moon's near side and will observe the lunar day (lasting 14 Earth days) and the lunar sunset on March 16.

      Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost mission, which launched earlier this month toward the moon, has also captured breathtaking video of Earth eclipsing the sun from space. Currently orbiting the Earth, the Blue Ghost lander is adjusting its trajectory for the journey to the moon in the upcoming weeks while collecting data with its scientific instruments and testing its communication system.

      "Five days into our mission, we've traveled 220,000 miles and downlinked 1.4 GB of data!" Firefly announced earlier this week. "There’s still a long journey ahead, but our #GhostRiders have accomplished so much already!"

      In other news, at the second attempt, Blue Origin successfully launched its orbital New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Thursday morning ET.

      Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost mission was launched carrying various NASA science instruments and technological demonstrations. The mission took off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:11 a.m. ET on January 15. The goal is to achieve a soft landing on the moon, which would mark just the second successful landing by a private company, following Intuitive Machines Odyssey's landing last year. These landings are part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which seeks to have companies deliver NASA science to the moon in anticipation of human exploration during the Artemis mission.