Artemis 1 Sends Back Snapshots of Earth as It Speeds Toward the Moon

snapshots of Earth that evoke the blue marble pictures taken by Apollo astronauts are being sent back by NASA as it heads for the moon.

The photographer is a robot that was built into the camera system for Artemis 1 The round-the-moon odyssey got off to a spectacular start early today with the first launch of NASA's Space Launch System, and over the next 25 days it's due to blaze a trail for future crewed trips to the moon.

After liftoff, a camera mounted on one of the solar array pivoted around to capture a view of the European built service module in the foreground.

As the imagery came down, NASA said, "Orion looking back at Earth as it travels toward the moon, 57,000 miles away from the place we call home"

The main purpose of the cameras is to keep an eye on how the capsule performs. There are four solar array cameras that can take pictures of Earth and the moon.

A lot of people think Earthrise is based on the classic Apollo 8 shot, according to an online primer on the camera system. Earthrise, the farthest distance from Earth, and lunar flyby are some of the milestone events that will be captured during the mission.

In the first 24 hours of the mission, ten small satellites were deployed from the Space Launch System's upper stage after trans-lunar injection.

The lunar ice cube will be looking for signs of water ice. LunIR will take pictures of the lunar surface. NASA's NEA Scout is built to unfurl a solar sail and fly away to study a near-earth asteroid, while Japan's Omotenashi satellite will attempt to make a "semi-hard" but survivable landing on the moon.

As a test run for a crewed round-the- moon mission scheduled for 2024 and a crewed lunar landing set for 2025. Three mannequins are sitting in the seats of a spaceship to collect data about radiation exposure and other aspects of the space environment

On November 21st, the mission will make its closest approach to the moon at an altitude of about 60 miles. The main engine of the spaceship will be fired and it will be able to maneuver into a circle around the moon.

When the acid test comes, it will be at a speed of 24,500 mph. It will be the first time that the heat shield will be put through a real-world trial.

The multi-billion dollar Artemis 1 program has come in for some criticism. It is said to cost more than $4 billion. The launch was praised by the White House.