NASA posts high resolution images of Orion's final lunar flyby - Engadget

Orion conscionable made its last walk astir the satellite connected its mode to Earth, and NASA has released immoderate of the spacecraft's champion photos truthful far. Taken by a high-resolution camera (actually a heavily modified GoPro Hero 4) mounted connected the extremity of Orion's star arrays, they amusement the spacecraft rounding the Moon past getting a closeup changeable of the acold side. 

The photos Orion snapped connected its archetypal adjacent walk to the Moon were alternatively grainy and blown out, apt due to the fact that they were captured with Orion's Optical Navigation Camera alternatively than the star array-mounted GoPros. Other GoPro shots were a touch overexposed, but NASA appears to person nailed the settings with its latest bid of shots. 

Space photos were evidently not the superior extremity of the Artemis I mission, but they're important for nationalist relations, arsenic NASA learned many moons ago. It was a spot astonishing that NASA didn't amusement immoderate high-resolution closeups of the Moon's aboveground erstwhile it passed by the archetypal time, but amended precocious than never.

Orion's show truthful acold has been "outstanding," programme manager Howard Hu told reporters past week. It launched connected November 15th arsenic portion of the Artemis 1 ngo atop NASA's mighty Space Launch System. Days ago, the trade completed a 3 and a fractional infinitesimal motor pain (the longest connected the travel truthful far) to acceptable it connected people for a splashdown connected December 11th.

The adjacent mission, Artemis II, is scheduled successful 2024 to transportation astronauts connected a akin way to Artemis I without landing connected the moon. Then, humans volition yet acceptable ft connected the lunar aboveground again with Artemis III, slated for motorboat successful 2025.