Artemis 1's Orion capsule snaps close-up photos of the moon - Space.com

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The satellite looks spectacular successful images captured by NASA's Orion spacecraft arsenic it cruised conscionable 81.1 miles (130 kilometers) supra the lunar aboveground during the Artemis 1 mission's closest attack to Earth's earthy outer connected Monday (Nov. 21).

These elaborate achromatic and achromatic images were snapped by the Orion spacecraft's onboard optical navigation camera connected time 6 of the mission, the aforesaid time it performed a crucial motor burn.

Orion is presently gearing up for a captious maneuver that volition insert the capsule into a precocious orbit astir the moon connected Friday (Nov. 25). The capsule volition execute a single-engine pain and each being well, volition stay successful lunar orbit for astir 1 week earlier embarking connected its travel backmost to Earth. The spacecraft is scheduled to splashdown successful the Pacific Ocean disconnected the California seashore connected Dec. 11.

Close-up presumption of the lunar aboveground captured by the Orion spacecraft's onboard optical navigation camera during the mission's closest attack to the lunar aboveground connected Nov. 21, 2022.

Orion has been engaged capturing images of Earth and the satellite astatine antithetic phases and distances to trial the effectiveness of its optical navigation camera nether antithetic lighting conditions arsenic a mode to assistance spacecraft predisposition during aboriginal crewed missions, according to the representation descriptions connected NASA's Flickr account (opens successful caller tab).

Artemis 1 is simply a trailblazing ngo designed to trial the readiness of the Orion Spacecraft and NASA's elephantine Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for aboriginal missions of the Artemis program.

All being well, the brace could alert astronauts to the vicinity of the satellite arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2024 — the archetypal clip since 1972 — during Artemis 2.

Around a twelvemonth oregon 2 later, Artemis 3 volition onshore astronauts adjacent the moon's southbound pole.

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Daisy Dobrijevic joined Space.com successful February 2022 arsenic a notation writer having antecedently worked for our sister work All About Space mag arsenic a unit writer. Before joining us, Daisy completed an editorial internship with the BBC Sky astatine Night Magazine and worked astatine the National Space Centre successful Leicester, U.K., wherever she enjoyed communicating abstraction subject to the public. In 2021, Daisy completed a PhD successful works physiology and besides holds a Master's successful Environmental Science, she is presently based successful Nottingham, U.K.

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