NASA’s uncrewed Orion spacecraft has sent back its first images Earth as it heads toward a rendezvous with the moon as part of the historic Artemis I mission.
The Earth slowly came into view as a video stream from the camera attached to spacecraft several hours after launch.
It’s the first time for a human-rated spacecraft to capture distant images of Earth since the final Apollo mission in 1972. “The views of our blue marble in the blackness of space are now capturing the imagination of a new generation, the Artemis generation,” a NASA commentator said.
The Orion was launched The Space Launch System (SLS), atopRocket from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center early Wednesday morning, November 16
The SLS rocket launched 8.8 million lbs of thrust and is the largest ever launched into space. This mission will last 25 days, and Orion will splash down off California’s coast. It will be used to test key technologies that NASA will use in future crewed Artemis missions. NASA is trying to establish a permanent lunar base.
Orion will also be deploying 10 CubeSats for science experiments and technology demonstrations over the next few hours.
“Each CubeSat has its own mission that has the potential to fill gaps in our knowledge of the solar system or demonstrate technologies that may benefit the design of future missions to explore the moon and beyond,” NASA said.
After several burns to stabilize the Orion, it is now expected to fly past the moon on Monday November 21.
“It’s taken a lot to get here, but Orion is now on its way to the moon,” Jim Free, NASA deputy associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said on Wednesday. “This successful launch means NASA and our partners are on a path to explore farther in space than ever before for the benefit of humanity.”
You can track the Orion spacecraft’s progress throughout its mission Visit a NASA special website.
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