Its primary objective following the March 2 touchdown inside Mare Crisium crater was to deliver 10 NASA instruments designed to gather lunar subsurface data. But the eastern edge of the moon’s near east side also provided a perfect spot for viewing a solar eclipse from the moon’s point of view.

While glasses were absolutely necessary for last year's solar eclipse, they are not needed to safely view this year's total lunar eclipse.

If you plan on catching the rare total lunar eclipse Thursday night into early Friday morning, here are some of the key moments you'll need to know.