Farewell, Earth! Firefly’s lunar lander, Blue Ghost, recently shared stunning views of our home planet as it embarked on its journey to lunar orbit, with a planned landing on the Moon’s surface in roughly two weeks.

On Wednesday, Blue Ghost successfully executed its trans-lunar injection maneuver, a critical series of engine burns aimed at placing the spacecraft in lunar orbit. After an extensive three-week flight in a highly elliptical orbit around Earth, the mission has officially departed from our planet, en route to the Moon, as confirmed by Firefly Aerospace. Before completely leaving Earth behind, the Blue Ghost captured breathtaking farewell images to mark the start of its adventure.

The Blue Ghost mission launched on January 15 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and is currently making its way to the Moon, with the mission aptly titled “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” Once in lunar orbit, it will remain for approximately 16 days before attempting a gentle landing.

This captivating image showcases Earth reflecting off the solar panels of Blue Ghost, with the Moon just visible on the horizon. You can also spot Firefly’s X-band antenna along with NASA’s LEXI payload positioned on the lander’s upper deck.

Four weeks into this mission, Blue Ghost has transmitted over 15 gigabytes of data back to Earth, which includes critical information from NASA’s scientific instruments. Ten distinct payloads were loaded aboard Blue Ghost as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, all designed to analyze the lunar terrain and collect data to aid future human exploration of the Moon.

One of the innovative tools onboard, the Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS) 1.1, developed by scientists at NASA’s Langley Research Center, will utilize four cameras to document the interaction of Blue Ghost’s rocket plumes and landing gear with the lunar surface during its descent. NASA confirmed in a recent update, “All 10 payloads are currently operational and ready to conduct surface operations on the Moon.”

Upon its arrival at the Moon, Blue Ghost has set its sights on Mare Crisium, a historical site of an ancient asteroid impact that once harbored basalt lava. According to NASA, the basalt formations in Mare Crisium date between 2.5 and 3.3 billion years old. We are all hopeful for a successful landing as Blue Ghost makes its descent onto the Moon’s surface.