Produced by: Manoj Kumar
As Earth’s shadow cloaks the moon, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter powers down, clinging to battery life to survive nearly 6 hours of chilling darkness, says mission scientist Noah Petro.
Credit : NASA
During the eclipse, temperatures inside LRO plunge to 23°F, while exposed instruments face a bone-crushing -22°F, forcing NASA to preheat components to dodge a frozen death.
Credit : NASA
With its solar-charged battery already degraded to 70%, LRO faces a tough endurance test. NASA hopes that powering off science gear will stretch its life long enough to see sunlight again.
Credit : NASA
Usually watching lunar heat, the Diviner radiometer will be silenced for this eclipse, breaking tradition from past events where it studied how the moon’s surface chills when plunged into shadow.
Credit : NASA
Diviner’s past eclipse data revealed that lunar “cold spots” near craters, like Kepler, are warmer than expected—hinting at mysteries in the moon’s dusty layers, Petro explains.
Credit : NASA
Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander, freshly arrived on the moon, will be plunged into darkness just 11 days after landing—hoping its limited battery survives the eclipse to snap history-making photos.
While we see a blood-red moon on Earth, Blue Ghost will see a total solar eclipse from the moon’s surface—Earth blocking the sun, casting eerie shadows across Mare Crisium.
Without the sun, spacecraft heaters fight to keep vital components alive, burning precious energy as they battle an environment that’s both electrically starved and deathly cold.
Credit : NASA
As the world gazes skyward, lunar machines hibernate in silence, their instruments shut down—lonely survivors in the cosmic night, waiting for the first light of dawn to wake them.