Launched on January 15, 2025, the Blue Ghost mission is currently in a 25-day orbit around Earth before embarking on a four-day journey to the Moon, with plans to enter lunar orbit by early March 2025.

The spacecraft, standing 6.6 feet tall, is equipped with various instruments for lunar research, including a lunar regolith vacuum and analyzer.

NASA has indicated that this achievement suggests the potential use of Earth-based GNSS constellations for navigation to the Moon, covering nearly 90% of the distance.

Currently, Blue Ghost is in an elongated Earth orbit, with a perigee of 200 kilometers and an apogee of 322,000 kilometers.

The mission's primary focus is to gather data on the Earth's magnetosphere and its interactions with solar wind.

In addition to studying lunar regolith properties and the Moon's interior structure, the mission aims to measure the Earth-Moon distance and test a radiation-resistant computer.

The planned lunar landing is scheduled for March 2, 2025, in the Mare Crisium region, a site previously visited by the Soviet Luna 24 mission in 1976.

While in Earth's orbit, the spacecraft captured stunning images of Earth eclipsing the Sun, showcasing its journey toward the Moon.

Firefly Aerospace has released a captivating video from the Blue Ghost spacecraft, including a time-lapse of the moment Earth obscured the Sun.

A recent milestone for the mission includes successfully acquiring a signal from NASA and the Italian Space Agency's Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment, achieving a record communication distance of 205,674 miles.

The lander carries six NASA payloads, including an X-ray instrument called LEXI, which will observe Earth's magnetosphere from the Moon.

Landing on the Moon presents significant challenges due to its lack of atmosphere, complicating the landing process, as evidenced by recent difficulties faced by U.S. and Japanese missions.