We are now beaming back incredible Full HD footage of the Moon before landings

A spacecraft preparing for its ambitious landing on the surface of the Moon has beamed back incredible footage showcasing the surface of our desolate neighbor.

Firefly Aerospace has shared some incredible footage captured by its Blue Ghost lander that is currently preparing for its landing on the surface of the Moon. The Full High Definition (FHD) footage was captured during the spacecraft's third lunar orbit maneuver on February 24, reducing the spacecraft's altitude and bringing it into a near-circular low lunar orbit. The above footage is sped up by 10X and was captured approximately 100 km (62.14 miles) above the surface of the Moon.

The robotic Blue Ghost spacecraft is scheduled to land in the Mare Crisium, a lava-covered basin on the near-side of the Moon, on March 2. The lander measures just 6.6 feet tall and carries an array of valuable scientific instruments and experiments that include testing methods for lunar regolith, or lunar soil.

2

Other scientific payloads include instruments to test the lunar environment, such as measuring heat flow from the Moon's interior and testing the electric and magnetic fields to understand lunar geological activity and solar-wind interaction. NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program funded the Blue Ghost lander.

Additionally, the lander will deploy a lunar retroreflector that's designed to enhance precise Earth-to-Moon distance measurements, along with testing a radiation-tolerant computing system that has been designed to operate in the hash lunar environment. The goal is for each of Ghost Blue's scientific instruments to operate for forteen Earth days, which is the equivalent to one lunar day.