NASA’s Orion spacecraft, which took off last week as part of the Artemis I mission, captured a stunning image of the moon.
As the spacecraft passed our natural satellite during its flyby yesterday, it took a picture of the moon and NASA shared it with the world.
Orion is supposed to orbit the moon now that it has separated from the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
As the spacecraft maneuvered 129 km above the lunar surface, the crew module captured a high-resolution image of the moon. Successfully completed at 12:44 GMT (07:44 EST), the exercise provided a unique angle and a remarkable close-up.
NASA’s official Twitter handle for the Artemis mission, @NASAArtemis, posted the photo. “The NASA_Orion spacecraft captured this image of the Moon during its sixth day of flight, as it made its first outbound powered flyby of the #Artemis I mission and its closest lunar approach,” the agency captioned. I wrote
The @NASA_Orion spacecraft captured this image of the Moon during its sixth day of flight, as it approached its first outbound powered flyby of the #Artemis I mission and its closest lunar approach. https://t.co/Wt4DrDpbK3 pic.twitter.com/GPILcbPYq7
— NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) November 21, 2022
Planet Earth, dubbed “our little piece of rock” by one user, was also spotted in a video screengrab.
Four engines are planned for Orion for the entire mission. Orion performed its first demonstration yesterday where the maneuver boosted the vehicle’s speed to 8,211 kmph. It lasted for about two minutes and 30 seconds.
The acceleration helped the spacecraft fight lunar gravity and would soon help it enter lunar orbit.
Orion reportedly lost contact with NASA for a brief moment. It is the first time a spacecraft has visited the moon since the Apollo missions five decades ago.
“Interesting side of the moon! Not the usual one we see most of the time with all the “seas”! There’s an interesting big crater on that side!” said one user.
Interesting side of the moon! Not the usual one we see most of the time with all the "seas"! This side has an interesting huge crater! 🤩
— Think! 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇨🇭🇩🇰 (@swissdane) November 21, 2022
Some users were not impressed and posted the photo captured by Apollo.
Pretty weak photo when this is the shot the Apollo 11 mission took over 50 years ago. pic.twitter.com/0rV6RfjlJt
— Patriot Gnome 🍊 🇺🇸 (@ArcherBird) November 21, 2022
