As part of NASA’s efforts to return to the Moon, the Orion spacecraft, which is performing the Artemis I mission, is now on its way back to Earth. In this process, Orion, which was about 435 thousand kilometers away from Earth, passed very close to the Moon twice.
Orion spacecraft sends extraordinary photo from the Moon
The Orion spacecraft also managed to take very detailed images of the Moon as part of the mission. NASA shared some details photos taken by the spacecraft with us. Taken by a high-resolution camera mounted on the end of Orion’s solar panels, these photos reveal the Moon in all its beauty.
Photos taken by Orion during its first close pass to the Moon are probably not very detailed, as they were taken with an Optical Navigation Camera mounted on an array of solar panels. However, Orion’s images on the way back are much more successful due to the use of different cameras and NASA possibly finding a better range of adjustments.
Of course, these photos were not the main focus of the Artemis I mission, but the resulting images are still of great importance to people like us who are curious about what is happening in space. We were expecting these images from NASA after Orion’s first transit to the Moon, but we had to wait another week to see the images.
While Orion’s performance so far has been described as “extraordinary” by NASA, the spacecraft, which has now come to the end of its mission, is expected to land on Earth. Orion, which was sent into space on November 15 with NASA’s newest launch system, will land again on December 11.
NASA marks the year 2024 for the next mission, Artemis II. This time, astronauts will take part in the Artemis II mission, which will follow a similar route to Artemis I. When it comes to 2025, it is planned that humanity will set foot on the Moon again with the Artemis III mission.
NASA is making plans to send humans back to the Moon in 3 years. So what do you think about NASA’s new Moon missions? You can share your views with us in the comments section.
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