Planet Earth from Orion
One year ago
a Space Launch System rocket left planet Earth
on November 16, 2022 at 1:47am EST carrying the Orion spacecraft on the
Artemis I mission, the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space
exploration systems.
Over an hour after
liftoff from Kennedy Space Center's
historic
Launch Complex 39B, one of Orion's
external video cameras
captured this view of its new
perspective from space.
In the foreground are Orion's Orbital Maneuvering System engine
and auxillary engines,
at the bottom of the European Service Module.
Beyond one of the module's 7-meter long extended solar array wings
lies the spacecraft's
beautiful home world.
Making close flybys of the
lunar surface and reaching a
retrograde orbit 70,000 kilometers beyond the Moon, the
uncrewed Artemis I mission
lasted over 25 days,
testing capabilities to enable human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Building on the
success
of Artemis I,
no earlier than November 2024
the Artemis II mission
with a crew of 4 will venture around the Moon and back again.