NASA’s Orion photographs the Earth and Moon from a quarter of a million miles away

On the Orion spacecraft record distance from Earth made for stunning photography, obviously. NASA has shared image taken by the Artemis I vehicle on Monday, showing Earth and the Moon in the background. Like some Apollo or Voyager 1 photograph”Pale blue dot”, the picture puts the home of humanity into perspective – our world is just one small planet in a much larger cosmos.

Orion took the snapshot around its maximum distance from Earth of 268,563 miles. This is the farthest distance ever traveled by a manned spacecraft, surpassing even Apollo 13’s record of 248,655 miles from 1970. It should be noted that Artemis I represents the first explorers intending to travel that far – Apollo 13 only got so far from Earth because of NASA’s emergency flight plan required the moon as a slingshot.

Ars Technica notes that this early Artemis flight has so far exceeded NASA’s expectations. While the mission team has completed only 31 of 124 primary objectives so far, it is adding objectives such as advanced thruster tests. About half of the remaining activities are underway, with the rest largely dependent on returning to Earth.

Orion is expected to touch down off the coast of San Diego on December 11. The Artemis program deals with multiple delaysand now it is not expected to land people on the moon by 2025 or 2026. NASA originally hoped for a moon landing in 2024. Still, Artemis I’s current performance suggests the space agency’s efforts are finally paying off.