NASA’s Orion capsule captures attractive close-up pictures of the Moon

The Orion spacecraft flew by the moon and sent back detailed images of the lunar surface and spacecraft orbiting the far side of the moon

go through Leah Crane

NASA’s Orion capsule has sent back stunning photos from its maiden voyage. The images show the spacecraft flying just 130 kilometers above the lunar surface, the closest it has been on its entire mission.

Orion launches Fly to the moon on November 16 on a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The test flight, known as the Artemis 1 mission, will send Orion into orbit around the moon before returning home and landing in the Atlantic Ocean on Dec. 11.

During the flyover, Orion passes behind the moon, temporarily losing contact with the operator and allowing it to take images of the far side of the Moon, never before seen from Earth. Above is an image taken by the spacecraft’s navigation camera as it approached the Moon’s surface, and below is a snapshot taken by a camera on the Orion Solar Array as the capsule passed by the far side of the Moon.

“The mission continues to go according to our plan, and the ground systems, our operations team and the Orion spacecraft continue to exceed expectations,” Artemis 1 mission manager Mike Seraphim said in a Nov. 21 news conference.

Now that the close flyby is complete, the capsule is flying away from the moon, preparing to enter a so-called distant retrograde orbit on November 25. The final orbit will be about 92,000 kilometers from the lunar surface, which will allow Orion to use less fuel during its six-day orbit around the Moon than closer orbits.

Once in lunar orbit, it’s on track to break the record for the farthest distance traveled from Earth by a spacecraft designed for humans – set by Apollo 13 in 1970 at some 400,000 kilometers. If all goes well with this test flight, Orion capsule The Artemis II mission will fly humans around the moon in 2024, while in Artemis III the capsule will be used to return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Sign up for our free Launch pad Newsletter every Friday for voyages across the galaxy and beyond