The exterior cameras of the Orion capsule, named "Integrity", captured images and video of the Artemis II spacecraft approaching the Moon this Tuesday, with the natural satellite filling nearly the entire frame and Earth visible as a tiny blue dot in the background of space.
The images, shared by NASA and specialized accounts on social media, provide a unique perspective of the mission's journey, which completed its historic lunar flyby last Sunday and began its return trip to Earth this Tuesday.
On Sunday, April 6, at 7:02 p.m. Eastern Time, the crew reached a maximum distance of 252,756 miles from Earth, surpassing the historic record set by Apollo 13 in April 1970 by approximately 4,111 miles.
The NASA confirmed the milestone on its official account with the message: "On the shoulders of giants... The Artemis II crew aboard Integrity has officially traveled farther into space than any human before, surpassing the record set during Apollo."
During the flyby, the spacecraft came within 6,543 kilometers of the lunar surface and lost communication with Earth for approximately 40 minutes while passing behind the far side of the Moon.
The astronaut Christina Koch described the moment with these words: "Now we are falling toward the Moon... It's an incredible milestone that people can understand."
The Orion capsule is equipped with 28 cameras that transmit high-resolution video, allowing for the capture of exterior images of the spacecraft with the Moon in the background, reminiscent of the iconic photographs from the Apollo program.
Artemis II was launched on April 1 from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, aboard the Space Launch System rocket, with a crew consisting of Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
The mission marks several historic milestones: it is the first human flight beyond low Earth orbit in over 50 years, Glover is the first Black person to travel to the vicinity of the Moon, Koch is the first woman on a crewed lunar mission, and Hansen is the first Canadian to fly to the Moon.
The mission does not include a lunar landing and its main objective is to validate the Orion spacecraft systems with a human crew, in preparation for Artemis III, which plans to send humans to the lunar south pole in 2027.
The landing of Integrity is scheduled for April 10 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, with the USS John P. Murtha serving as the recovery ship.
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