NASA’s Orion spacecraft, powered by ESA’s European Service Module, shares a stunning new take on ‘Earth rise’ following the return powered flyby of the Moon.
This picture was taken on 5 December, flight day 20, after the spacecraft accomplished a 3 minute 27 second burn to swing across the Moon and again to Earth.
Simply earlier than the burn, Orion made its second and ultimate shut method to the Moon at 17:43 CET (16:43 GMT), passing 130 km above the lunar floor.
The burn, which used the European Service Module’s fundamental engine, modified the rate of the spacecraft by about 1054 km/h. It was the ultimate main engine burn of the Artemis I mission.
Orion is because of splashdown within the Pacific Ocean on 11 December to finish the 25-day Artemis I mission.
“Orion is heading house!” stated NASA administrator Invoice Nelson. “The lunar flyby enabled the spacecraft to harness the Moon’s gravity and slingshot it again towards Earth for splashdown. Subsequent up, reentry!”
Sadly, however essentially, the European Service Module’s contribution to Artemis ends 40 minutes earlier than splashdown. Along with the Crew Module Adapter these components of the Orion spacecraft will detach from the Crew Module and dissipate harmlessly within the environment, leaving Orion by itself for the final essential minutes to splashdown.
Discover Artemis I mission updates and flight day logs on ESA’s Orion blog.
