On Sunday morning, a spacecraft built by Firefly Aerospace softly touched down on the surface of the Moon, making the Texas-based startup the second private company in history to pull off the feat.Even better, the lunar lander, dubbed Blue Ghost, didn't tip over as it came down, a fate that befell two other spacecraft that made it to the Moon's surface without crashing last year.And even-even better? We have some absolutely magnificent footage of the landing as it took place, which was beamed back to Earth using the spacecraft's X-band antenna shortly after arriving in style.Taken from a camera onboard Blue Ghost, the maneuver plays out in an almost dreamlike haze thanks not only to the alien starkness of the lunar surface, but to the huge plumes of dust that wash over the camera.Heightening the sense of cinematic awe, we also have a perfect view of the lander's own shadow right as it touches down. And if you pay close enough attention, you can even see a rock kicked up into the air by the thrusters, arcing so serenely you'd think the spacecraft quickly teed one off to celebrate.If your interest is piqued and how could it not be? Firefly has shared other images and videos from the mission, including footage of Blue Ghost orbiting roughly sixty miles above the lunar surface.The Blue Ghost mission, sponsored by NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program to the tune of $101.5 million, commenced in January, when it was launched into orbit using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Now that it's landed, Blue Ghost is expected to operate up to 14 days, or roughly one lunar day.The lander is carrying a scientific payload of ten instruments, some of which will be used to probe the lunar environment. One thing on NASA's radar is lunar dust, which is extremely fine and adhesive, causing all kinds of mechanical issues for visiting machinery, and posing a possible health hazard for astronauts. Beyond those implications, scientists are interested in how the dust,which comes from the layer of loose surface soil that scientists refer to as the lunar regolith,reacts to solar influences.Not all the work is Moon focused. The rocky satelliteoffers a great vantage point of Earth, and capitalizing on this, a low-energy x-ray instrument aboard the Blue Ghost will attempt to capture the first global view of the Earth's magnetic field interacting with the solar wind, or the high velocity gust of charged particles, flung off the Sun."The science and technology we send to the Moon now helps prepare the way for future NASA exploration and long-term human presence to inspire the world for generations to come," said NASA associate administrator for science Nicky Fox in a statement.More on lunar happenings: There's Some Serious Drama on the MoonShare This Article