Picture Captures Private Lunar Lander's Shadow After It Touched Down on the Moon

In a significant milestone for private-sector space exploration, a lunar lander touched down on the Moon on Sunday and transmitted images, including a striking photo of its own shadow cast on the lunar surface.

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost landed near Mons Latreille—an ancient volcanic feature on the far eastern visible edge of the moon—where an image taken by an onboard camera confirmed the lander's successful descent.

More images are expected to be delivered over the 14 days Blue Ghost is slated to stay on the moon, a time period set to include a five-hour eclipse and a never-before photographed event.

"There's a phenomenon called the lunar horizon glow (scattered light caused by floating electrostatic particles) that only the Apollo 15 and 17 astronauts have seen with their eyes,"Firefly CEO Jason Kim told CNN. "We're going to be able to capture that in 4K-by-4K high-definition video and share that with the rest of the world."

The lunar lander also intends to collect data during the lunar night, a task previous expeditions have been unable to complete due to temperatures that drop to minus 280 degrees Fahrenheit.

As Firefly's lander begins its work, two other private lunar missions—Intuitive Machines' second lander and Japan's Ispace lander—are also en route to the Moon, further solidifying the role of commercial companies in the next era of space exploration.