NASA's Artemis I on Wednesday started taking pictures with fresh perspectives of the Earth, the moon, and the Orion spacecraft.
After several delays, Artemis I launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Gizmodo said NASA's Artemis I will go 40,000 miles beyond the moon to gather engineering data before returning to Earth.
The Artemis 1 moon rocket and the Orion spacecraft sit poised on Launch Pad 39B on November 13, 2022, as the countdown for the third launch attempt continues at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
NASA Artemis 1 Shares Photo of Moon
NASA posted the video below on Twitter on Wednesday as the Orion spacecraft started its journey to the moon. In another tweet, the European Space Agency further verified that the satellite had deployed its X-shaped solar array.
According to NASA, four of the 24 cameras aboard the rocket and spacecraft will allow users to take selfies of the spaceship with Earth or the moon in the background.
As @NASA_Orion begins the #Artemis I mission to the Moon, the spacecraft captured these stunning views of our home planet. pic.twitter.com/Pzk3PDt7sd
— NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) November 16, 2022
One hour and 55 minutes after takeoff, ESA released numerous brief footage of the second stage separating, which showed it floating away in the void of space. The capsule left Earth after its separation and set off for the Moon.
It is anticipated that the photographs would offer fresh viewpoints on Earthrise.
"A lot of folks have an impression of Earthrise based on the classic Apollo 8 shot," David Melendrez, imagery integration lead for the Orion Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, said in a statement.
"Images captured during the mission will be different than what humanity saw during Apollo missions, but capturing milestone events such as Earthrise, Orion's farthest distance from Earth, and a lunar flyby will be a high priority," he added.
Human-Made Spacecraft's Achievement
Even though it doesn't have a crew right now, Orion is effectively laying the groundwork for an astronaut-carrying deep space mission.
By November 22, NASA expects the spacecraft to arrive on the moon. Still, it won't be making a landing because it is now 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the lunar surface. The Orion capsule will then use the moon's gravitational pull to transport it to the other side.
If successful, the Orion spacecraft will exceed Apollo 13's mission in April 1970, which traveled at a distance of 248,654 miles (400,170 km), the furthest distance from Earth ever attained by a man-made spacecraft.
According to Space.com, the crew had to create a rescue plan to bring the spaceship back to Earth due to an emergency operation after an onboard explosion.
According to the current mission's schedule obtained by Mashable, Orion will orbit the moon, traveling a quarter of a million kilometers from Earth before turning around and returning on December 11.
It will be followed by the Artemis 2 mission, the first crewed mission of the Artemis Program, which is anticipated to launch in 2024. However, it won't be the Artemis 3 mission's primary objective to put men on the moon's surface in 2025.
RELATED ARTICLE: NASA's Artemis I Moon Rocket Finally Launches to Space on Historic Return to the Lunar Surface
Check out more news and information on Space in Science Times.
