NASA is send an exciting missionary work to the Moon on board a commercial lander , Firefly Aerospace ’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 . The lander is carrying ten scientific instrument , most of them to study the Moon , but one is going to attend back at our planet : the Lunar Environment Heliospheric X - ray Imager ( LEXI ) .

LEXI will take pictures of Earth , focusing on the low - energy X - ray that form when the electrically charged particles in the solar wind interact with our major planet ’s magnetic field . This happens at the edge of the magnetosphere . For its expected six day of operation , LEXI has a unique viewpoint to capture it .

“ We ’re trying to get this vainglorious word-painting of Earth ’s space environs , ” Brian Walsh , a space physicist at Boston University and LEXI ’s main tec , say in astatement . “ A lot of physic can be esoteric or difficult to stick to without years of specific education , but this will be science that you may see . ”

The oeuvre of LEXI might seem brusque , but it will supply very important selective information about the interaction between the solar wind and the magnetosphere – in especial , how the magnetosphere changes in response to the strength of the solar twist . Since the Sun is experiencingpeak body process , this is an incredible opportunity to study the magnetosphere .

“ We expect to see the magnetosphere breathing out and breathing in , for the first sentence , ”   summate Hyunju Connor , an astrophysicist at NASA ’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt , Maryland , and the NASA lead for LEXI . “ When the solar wind is very impregnable , the magnetosphere will shrink and push backward toward Earth , and then blow up when the solar idle words weaken . ”

“ We ’d break the meth — not literally — but remove it , restore it , and refurbish it , and that would reserve us to look back and get this worldwide picture that we ’ve never had before , ” Walsh said .

Part of the optics and other components had to be replaced , but the musical instrument was in unco good shape , and it is now quick to take flight again .

Firefly Aerospace has stated that the ask launch meter for Blue Ghost Mission 1 is 1:11 am EST on January 15 , 2025 .