NASA Shares New Images From Far Side of Moon as Astronauts Prepare To Head Home

The Artemis II astronauts are making the days-long trip back to Earth after their historic lunar flyaround.The Orion spacecraft exited the moon’s gravity on Tuesday and it reentered the Earth’s sphere of influence. NASA also released stunning photos taken from the spacecraft, including one showing the Earth setting behind the moon.Another image shows the moon eclipsing the sun. The crew used eclipse viewers that were identical to what NASA produced for the 2023 and 2024 eclipses on Earth to protect their eyes at key moments during the solar eclipse aboard Orion during their lunar flyby. One of the images NASA released showed the four astronauts posing in their eclipse viewers.Another photo gives a close-up view of the Vavilov Crater on the rim of the Hertzsprung basin on the far side of the moon.“I just have to say ‘wow’ when I look at all of those images,” a NASA deputy associate administrator, Lori Glaze said at a Tuesday afternoon mission update. “I hope all of you are as inspired as I am. I know as they continue to be downloaded, you know, they are just absolutely stunning.” NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, held a ship-to-ship call with the astronauts aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday afternoon.The crew also held a debrief with science officers at mission control at Houston to give them details about their lunar flyby. Each of the astronauts also had time for private chats with family members back on Earth.Orion’s thrusters were set to ignite on Tuesday evening for the first of three return trajectory correction burns to adjust the spacecraft’s path and refine the course toward Earth.The space capsule is set to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Friday evening.Artemis II marks NASA’s first return to the moon with astronauts. The Artemis program aims to return astronauts back to the surface of the moon in two years. NASA plans unmanned missions to the moon in advance to bring supplies to construct a permanent base near the south pole.The NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman, said systems are already being built and tested for future missions as the current space flight is underway.

NASA Shares New Images From Far Side of Moon as Astronauts Prepare To Head Home

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