GoKawiilNASA’s Artemis II mission, carrying four astronauts on an out-of-this-world journey, flew around the Moon on Monday.
The crew members took turns describing the stunning landscape below and captured images of Earth rising behind the Moon, in communications with Mission Control in Houston. What they did not send back in real time, due to a lack of communications bandwidth, was this high-resolution imagery.
That changed on Monday night, when Orion established an optical link with ground stations on Earth to send high-resolution images back to the planet. NASA has been uploading them to Johnson Space Center’s Flickr page.
And what those images reveal is awe-inspiring.
Credit: NASA The lunar surface fills the frame in sharp detail, as seen during the Artemis II lunar flyby, while a distant Earth sets in the background. The lunar surface fills the frame in sharp detail, as seen during the Artemis II lunar flyby, while a distant Earth sets in the background. Credit: NASA
During their flyby, the astronauts were able to take advantage of both a rising and setting Earth, as well as a solar eclipse. The moment of totality was brilliant.
Credit: NASA This image shows the Moon fully eclipsing the Sun. This image shows the Moon fully eclipsing the Sun. Credit: NASA
Inside the Integrity spacecraft, the four astronauts— Mission Specialist Christina Koch (top left), Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (bottom left), Commander Reid Wiseman (bottom right), and Pilot Victor Glover (top right)—had to wear shades for the initial phase of the eclipse.