First set of Artemis II lunar flyby photos shows solar eclipse, Earthset, Earthrise and more
NASA has released the first official images taken by the Artemis II crew during their historic lunar flyby aboard the Orion spacecraft. And they are as scientifically important as they are breathtaking. “Our four Artemis II astronauts—Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy—took humanity on an incredible journey around the Moon and brought back images so exquisite and brimming with science, they will inspire generations to come,” said Dr. Nicky Fox, the associate administrator for Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington, per a NASA press release.
During the seven-hour-long flyby, the crew captured photos of impact craters, ancient lava flows, and surface fractures, all of which are expected to help scientists get better insights into the Moon's geological evolution. And while images of the Moon aren’t “new” by any means, the Artemis II astronauts are the first humans in over five decades to actually take pictures from the Moon’s vicinity. Over this massive gap in time, photography and imaging equipment have advanced to a large extent in terms of quality, which makes the new images all the more interesting to observe.
Moreover, previous crewed missions from the Apollo era captured images a little too close to the lunar surface. However, Orion’s closest approach to the Moon was at a distance of 4,067 miles, which gave the astronauts a unique vantage point. NASA describes the Moon’s apparent size from the spacecraft as that of a basketball held at arm’s length.
“At first, their descriptions didn’t quite match what we were seeing on our screens,” said Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist at the agency’s headquarters. “Now that higher resolution images are coming down, we can finally experience the moments they were trying to share and truly appreciate the scientific return provided by these images and our other research on this mission.” Scientists will also make use of amateur astronomer observations made from Earth and compare them to the timing and location of the images to refine the Artemis II crew’s findings.
Among other things, Orion's trajectory around the Moon allowed the crew to observe an Earthset and an Earthrise. Moreover, during the flyby, they saw the Moon completely blocking the Sun from their perspective, resulting in a solar eclipse that made the otherwise imperceptible solar corona visible.
NASA also received reports of meteoroid impacts as well as color variations on the surface of the Moon. Of course, more images are expected to arrive as Orion makes its way back to Earth, ready for splashdown on Friday, April 10.
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