The moon looks stunning in images captured by NASA’s Orion spacecraft as it flew just 81.1 miles (130 kilometers) above the lunar surface during the Artemis 1 mission, closest to Earth’s natural satellite, on Monday (November 21).
These detailed black and white photos were taken by Orion spacecraftThe onboard optical navigation camera on the sixth day of the mission, the same day he performed it Crucial engine burn.
Orion is currently preparing for a crucial maneuver that will bring the capsule into high orbit around it the moon On Friday (November 25). The capsule will perform a single-engine burn and all is well, and will remain in orbit around the Moon for about a week before embarking on its journey back to Earth. a land. The spacecraft is scheduled to lift off in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on December 11th.
Related: NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission: live updates
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These detailed black and white photos were taken by Orion spacecraftThe onboard optical navigation camera on the sixth day of the mission, the same day he performed it Crucial engine burn.
Orion has been busy taking pictures of the Earth and Moon at various phases and distances to test the effectiveness of its optical navigation camera under different lighting conditions as a way to help guide the spacecraft during future crew missions, according to image descriptions at NASA Flickr account (Opens in a new tab).
Artemis 1 It is a groundbreaking mission designed to test the readiness of NASA’s Orion spacecraft and spacecraft Space launch system (SLS) for future missions from Artemis program.
All is well, the pair could fly astronauts to the vicinity of the Moon as early as 2024 – for the first time since 1972 – during Artemis 2.
After about a year or two, Artemis 3 The astronauts will land near the moon’s south pole.
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