He decided that God’s Word would accompany him on the journey.
There is a silence only a few human beings have ever known.
The Moon
Differences between Artemis and Apollo moon missions
Both programs aim to land humans on the Moon, but they’re built for different eras, tech, and goals.
Here’s how they stack up:
1. Mission goals & scope
- Apollo (1961-1972): A Cold War “space race” to beat the Soviets. Goal was to land a man on the Moon and return him safely, proving U.S. dominance. Missions were short flags-and-footprints trips.
- Artemis (2022–present): Designed for long-term, sustainable presence. Goal is to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, establish the Gateway lunar space station, and use the Moon as a stepping stone for Mars. Artemis missions are built for longer surface stays and resource exploration.
2. Vehicles & rockets
| Apollo | Artemis | |
| Launch rocket | Saturn V | Space Launch System (SLS) |
| Thrust | 33.8 million newtons | 39.1 million newtons – 15% more than Saturn V |
| Stages | 3 stages | 1.5 stages |
| Crew capsule | Command Module | Orion crew module |
| Crew capacity | 3 astronauts | 4 astronauts |
| Habitable space | 5.95 m³ | 9 m³ |
| Mission duration | Up to 14 days | Up to 21 days |
3. Technology & computers
- Apollo: One flight computer, 75% heavier than just one of Orion’s four redundant systems. Had 128,000x less memory and was 20,000x slower. Software only calculated trajectory, no real-time adjustment. Didn’t account for radiation because missions flew during solar minimum.
- Artemis/Orion: Four redundant flight computers, modern avionics, and autonomy. Software adjusts trajectory in real-time and automates functions so astronauts can focus on other tasks. Electronics are radiation-hardened.
4. Crew & culture
- Apollo: All-male, all-American crews. Launch teams were primarily men.
- Artemis: Intentionally more representative. Artemis will land the first woman and first person of color. The launch team is now ∼30% women, including the first woman launch director. Artemis II crew includes a woman, person of color, and a Canadian.
5. Lunar operations & science
- Apollo: Short stays, up to 12 days. Used the Apollo Lunar Surface Drill and Lunar Roving Vehicle on later J-missions.
- Artemis: Designed for longer surface missions. New tech like the TRIDENT drill will sample regolith and hunt for ice/resources to support sustained presence. Gateway station adds an orbital outpost to coordinate vehicles.
6. Pace & approach
- Apollo: Went from first U.S. astronaut to Moon landing in 8 years. Very fast, risk-accepting.
- Artemis: Much slower after decades of shifting priorities between Moon and Mars. SLS flew uncrewed once in 2022. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight, a lunar flyby like Apollo 8, before a landing on Artemis III or IV.
One of the Artemis II astronauts was carrying something hidden.
Blue Ghost Mission 1
Mission Update
Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1, named Ghost Riders in the Sky, launched from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, at 1:11 a.m. EST on January 15, 2025. Blue Ghost separated from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in a highly elliptical Earth orbit at 2:17 a.m. EST and established communications with Firefly’s Mission Operations Center in Cedar Park, Texas, at 2:26 a.m. EST.
Mission Summary
Blue Ghost Mission 1 will deliver 10 science and technology instruments to the lunar surface as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. Upon launching on January 15, Blue Ghost is spending approximately 45 days traveling to the Moon, allowing ample time to conduct health checks on each subsystem and begin payload science. Blue Ghost is set to land in Mare Crisium on March 2 and operate payloads for a complete lunar day (about 14 Earth days). On March 14, Firefly expects to capture high-definition imagery of a total eclipse when the Earth blocks the sun above the Moon’s horizon. Blue Ghost will then capture the lunar sunset on March 16, providing data on how lunar dust levitates due to solar influences and creates a lunar horizon glow first documented by Eugene Cernan on Apollo 17. Following sunset, Blue Ghost will operate several hours into the lunar night.
Standing 2 m (6.6 ft) tall and 3.5 m (11.5 ft) wide, Blue Ghost is designed for stability with shock absorbing feet, a low center of mass, and a wide footprint. Blue Ghost’s core components, including the panels, struts, legs, harnesses, avionics, batteries, and thrusters, were built using many of the same flight-proven technologies common to all of Firefly’s launch and orbital vehicles, enabling lower costs and improved reliability.
The last Lunar Eclipse for 2021
A full moon penumbral lunar eclipse.
You can watch it live here.
In fact a partial lunar eclipse
It will be best to view it as it rises over the horizon, to the East-North-East.
The Moon Eclipse should be visible in east Asia, the South Pacific, including most of Australia (not WA) and all of the Americas.
In North America, the partial lunar eclipse should be visible in the early morning, before sunrise, and the Moon will likely have a reddish color.
Here in Queensland Australia, we are expecting to get a good view of the full moon eclipse tonight. The moon rises over Brisbane at 6:15pm, which is just before the sun sets in the west. By 7pm the Moon will be almost entirely eclipsed. But we will still see a small sliver of light on the right-hand side.
Look to the east as the Moon rises. The Moon will be in the constellation of Taurus, the bull. When the moon darkens as it is eclipsed by the Earth, the constellations around it will appear brighter. You may even make out the Seven Sisters, the constellation of Pleiades. The stars will emerge from the darkness just below the almost total lunar eclipse.
High Power Precision Binoculars
This partial lunar eclipse will last for about 3 ½ hours, the longest lunar eclipse duration since the 1400’s.