Artemis II hits ‘two thirds’ mark on moon journey, shares new lunar photos: ‘History in the making’
Astronauts on the Artemis II mission are over two-thirds of the way to reaching the moon for a flyby mission that will make them Earth’s farthest emissaries and promises views of the moon’s far side.
Covered by: Stephen Sorace
Astronauts capture new image of moon's Orientale basin: ‘First time … seen with human eyes’
In this photo taken by the Artemis II crew, NASA said the Orientale basin can be seen on the right edge of the lunar disk, a sight that human eyes cannot normally see. (NASA)
NASA has shared a new image of the moon taken during the Artemis II mission.
The picture, taken by the Artemis II crew, shows new details of the moon's Orientale basin, according to the space agency.
“In this new image from our @NASAArtemis II crew, you can see Orientale basin on the right edge of the lunar disk,” NASA wrote early Sunday. “This mission marks the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes.”
NASA added: “History in the making.”
When the crew embarks on its lunar flyby, the astronauts will split into pairs and take turns capturing the lunar views out their windows with cameras.
NASA geologist Kelsey Young previously said that the astronauts will be able make out “definite chunks of the far side that have never been seen” by humans, including a good portion of Orientale Basin.
The crew will use a suite of professional-quality cameras aboard, though each astronaut also has an iPhone for more informal, spur-of-the-minute picture-taking.
“They’ve practiced for many, many, many months on visualizations of the moon,” Young said over the weekend, “and getting their eyes on the real thing, I’m really, really looking forward to them bringing the moon a little closer to home on Monday.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Posted by Stephen Sorace
