Sunrise and sunset images of Earth and a total solar eclipse from inside Orion mark the highlight of the mission so far, as NASA has already performed its first orbit correction maneuver back to Earth.
The photos are the big story of Artemis II right now. NASA has released the first official set of images from the lunar flyby, providing the first-ever manned, up-to-date look from the orbiter's orbit around the far side of the moon. Among the standout images are Earthset of Earth sinking behind the lunar surface, Earthrise as a thin, bluish streak above the lunar horizon, and a rare shot of a total solar eclipse as seen from the Orion spacecraft. According to NASA, the images were taken on April 6 during a roughly seven-hour flyby of the far side of the moon, and include areas that have never before been photographed by humans from a manned flight.
One of the most impressive images is the Earthset image taken at 18:41 p.m. Eastern Time in the United States, just three minutes before Orion passed behind the moon and lost contact with Earth for about 40 minutes. The image shows the cratered surface of the moon in the foreground, and in the background the Earth, which is partly at night and partly illuminated over the Australia and Oceania region. Another image, taken after the moon had passed behind, shows Earthrise, in which the Earth appears as a thin crescent. (NASA)
The most dramatic image is probably the eclipse. From the team's perspective, the moon almost completely blocked out the sun for nearly 54 minutes, much longer than a typical total solar eclipse seen from Earth. NASA notes that the image shows a halo around the edge of the moon, and that the scientific community is still investigating whether it is primarily the solar corona, the light of the zodiac, or a combination of both. Venus can also be seen in the image, and the Mare Crisium region, which is indirectly illuminated by light reflected from Earth. (NASA)
Beyond the visual effect, these images also mark a particularly successful stage in the mission. Orion completed its orbit around the moon, and during that day, Artemis II broke the record for the longest manned orbit from Earth, a record held by Apollo 13 since 1970. According to NASA, the crew passed the 248,655-mile mark from Earth, and later reached a maximum distance of approximately 252,756 miles. This is not just a symbolic achievement; it confirms that the spacecraft, communications systems, and crew are functioning well in deep space conditions, in preparation for the return journey.
Since the previous night, the return phase has also resumed. At 8:03 p.m. EDT on April 7, which is 20:03 a.m. on April 03, Israel time, Orion, which bears the name Integrity, the first orbit correction maneuver on the way back. The burn lasted 15 seconds and changed the spacecraft's speed by 1.6 feet per second, about 0.49 meters per second. NASA noted that Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen monitored the spacecraft's configuration and navigation data during the maneuver. At the same time, rescue teams had already begun preparing for a wet landing in the Pacific Ocean. (NASA)
In the upcoming mission schedule, NASA has already scheduled a press conference with the Artemis II crew for the return journey on April 8 at 21:45 p.m. EDT, and another manual flight test has also been planned during the reentry phase to give engineers more data on the spacecraft's behavior in deep space. Currently, the landing date remains April 10 at 20:07 p.m. EDT off the coast of San Diego, which is the night between Friday and Saturday, Israel time. (NASA)
The bottom line is that Artemis II has made it through the most dangerous and critical moment of the mission, the passage around the far side of the moon, and has emerged not only safely but with an extraordinary visual record. Barring an unexpected glitch in the coming days, the focus will now shift to the reentry phase, the additional experiments the crew is conducting along the way, and the landing that will close out the first manned flight into the lunar environment since Apollo 17. (NASA)
More of the topic in Hayadan:
4 תגובות
The spacecraft is designed to absorb the radiation before it reaches the astronauts.
A little bit of a mystery to me, how did they get into the Van Allen radiation belts? These are belts that completely surround the Earth. There is radiation there that is several thousand times the microwave radiation, like a microwave at home, multiplied by thousands of times. How did they not become a mosaic when they got in? The Americans have the TR3B, for example. It is an aircraft surrounded by frequency protection, which is the only way to get in and out of these radiation belts. See the Van Allen belts. What is there even a problem with the whole story of "landing on the moon" and the whole story of the moon in general? Look up Krild on the internet. It is very surprising.
It means landing at sea. I changed it to wet landing.
The landing splash?!