The Commander Of Artemis II Lunar Mission Sent Breathtaking Pics Of Our Planet
Credit: NASA
A few hours ago, the Orion spacecraft and its crew successfully completed a translunar trajectory maneuver, gaining the speed needed to escape Earth’s gravity and begin their journey to Earth’s natural satellite. NASA astronauts are covering the mission’s progress live. Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman shared breathtaking photographs of Earth taken from the Orion spacecraft’s window.
The first photographs capture the entire globe as it occludes the Sun. In other images, the Earth is only partially visible or not illuminated by the Sun’s rays.
For astrophotography, astronauts use Nikon D5 cameras, which have proven themselves resistant to radiation in space conditions.
The SLS rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis 2 mission lifted off Wednesday at 6:35 PM local time from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA astronauts Reed Weisman, Christina Koch, and Victor Glover, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, are expected to orbit the Moon at a distance of approximately 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) before returning to Earth.
During the ten-day lunar flyby, the crew will test all of the ship’s critical systems in deep space conditions: radiation protection, heat shield, navigation, and life support systems. This is essentially a key rehearsal for the Artemis IV manned mission, scheduled for 2028, which will land on the moon’s surface.
