Incredible photos of the dark side of the moon taken by the Orion capsule

After leaving Earth last week, the Orion capsule flew over the moon on Monday and managed to get within just 130 kilometers of the satellite.

After the wonderful “Earthlight”, here is a close-up of the dark side of the Moon. NASA said on Twitter on Monday that the Orion capsule came within 130 kilometers (81 miles) of the far side of our satellite. The first is on an unmanned, habitable mission.

Because communications were out for half an hour, flight controllers in Houston weren’t sure if the engine burn had taken place before the capsule exited from behind the Moon, 370,000 kilometers from Earth, news agency reports News agency.

25 day task

Orion reached speeds of more than 8,000 kilometers per hour when contact resumed, before the capsule flew over the Sea of ​​Tranquility, where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed in 1969, the Associated Press notes.

The capsule will continue its mission, venturing up to 64,000 kilometers past the only natural satellite – a record for a habitable capsule.

Artemis 1 is a test flight that will orbit the Moon without landing there and without an astronaut on board. The task, which must last 25 days in total, You must confirm that the vehicle is safe for the receiving crew.

This flight marked the beginning of the Artemis program, which aims to send the first woman and first person of color to the moon. The goal is to establish a permanent human presence there, in preparation for a trip to Mars.