The "Orion" spacecraft transmitted the first image of Earth from a great distance. On it, the planet looks like a thin crescent. For the first time since 1972, humans were able to directly see Earth from such a distant vantage point.
Earth from the "Orion" spacecraft. Photo: NASA
The rocket with the spacecraft launched on April 1 from a spaceport in Florida as part of the "Artemis-2" mission. The crew, which includes American and Canadian astronauts, successfully headed towards the Moon.
The photo was taken from a distance of about 70 thousand kilometers from Earth, confirming that the spacecraft had left Earth's orbit.
Later, NASA published another photo, in which the Earth is photographed completely.
"We see our home planet as a whole, illuminated in breathtaking blue and brown colors. A green aurora even illuminates the atmosphere. This is us, together, watching as our astronauts make their journey to the Moon," the company captioned this photo on social network X.
The mission will last about 10 days. During this time, the astronauts will fly around the Moon at a distance of approximately 8 thousand kilometers from its surface and will study its structure — craters, lava, fissures, and other features. This will help to better understand how the Moon and the entire Solar System were formed.
If all goes well, the mission participants will find themselves at the greatest distance from Earth that humans have ever been. After this, they will return home. The entire project is aimed at preparing for the next stage — the "Artemis-3" mission, during which a human landing on the Moon is planned.
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