A successful flyby of the moon has taken place five days after the launch of the SLS rocket. It snapped a picture of Earth during its close encounter.
The photo is called the "Earthset" and was posted by NASA. It shows Earth and the moon in the same picture.
Earthset. ๐@NASA_Orion captured this shot of Earth โsettingโ while the spacecraft passed close to the Moon. Nearly 270,000 miles (430,000 km) away, #Artemis I will soon surpass Apollo 13โs record-setting distance from Earth in a spacecraft designed to carry astronauts. pic.twitter.com/lvDS7nGPRo
โ NASA (@NASA) November 21, 2022
The Artemis I mission is testing new hardware ahead of crewed missions to the moon, similar to how humans live and work on the International Space Station.
According to an update on NASA's website on Monday, November 21, Orion passed 81 miles above the moon and traveled at 5,101 mph. The time of the lunar flyby was more than two decades ago.
The space agency said that the flyby burn was the first of two maneuvers required. The European service module will be used to perform the distant retrograde burn.
It was confirmed that the spaceship will stay in this position for about a week.
It will be more than 268,500 miles from home on November 28, making it the longest trip by a human-rated spaceship.
The mission is going well for NASA. The craft will return to Earth on December 11th and land in California.
Artemis II will follow the same route, but with astronauts on board. Artemis III will attempt to put the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface as NASA attempts to establish a permanent presence on the moon.
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