Romain Rouillard 4:23 p.m., November 22, 2022

Leaving on November 15, the Orion capsule brought back impressive shots of the dark side of the Moon, approaching only a hundred kilometers from the satellite.

A feat achieved as part of the Artemis program which ultimately aims for a more detailed exploration of the Moon.

This is the first time that a habitable mission has come so close to the Moon.

This Monday, the Orion capsule published impressive pictures of the far side of the satellite closest to Earth, six days after taking off from Florida.

Photos taken about 80 miles or 130km from the Moon.

If NASA was unable to broadcast the images of the Moon flyby live, due to a 30-minute communications cut, the photos sent by the capsule's camera attest to the success of the operation. 

#Artemis I, Flight Day 5. Orion spacecraft takes a selfie while approaching the Moon ahead of the outbound powered flyby - a burn of Orion's main engine on the @ESA service module.

During this maneuver Orion came within 81 miles of the lunar surface.

pic.twitter.com/93GkJ7Ubry

— Orion Spacecraft (@NASA_Orion) November 22, 2022

When radio contact was resumed, Orion was moving at a speed of 8,000 km/h, according to the

Associated Press

.

She then flew over the area where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin put up an American flag on July 20, 1969, making them the first men to step on the Moon. 

The @NASA_Orion spacecraft captured this image of the Moon during its sixth day of flight, as it approached its first outbound powered flyby of the #Artemis I mission and its closest lunar approach.

https://t.co/Wt4DrDpbK3pic.twitter.com/GPILcbPYq7

—NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) November 21, 2022

A mission in three stages

A feat that NASA intends to reproduce.

The Orion capsule operates as part of the Artemis mission, the ultimate objective of which is to establish a lasting presence on the Moon in order to study its rocky composition and the possible presence of water on its surface.

A careful observation that could prove very useful in preparation for a future trip to Mars.

Fly me to the Moon



This image was taken on the sixth day of the #Artemis I mission by a camera on @NASA_Orion.

On Mon.

Nov 21, it came within 80 miles of the lunar surface - the closest approach of the uncrewed mission.

pic.twitter.com/xzsNKtCcrr

— NASA's Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) November 21, 2022

For now, the program - which is divided into three stages - is only in the initial phase.

The operation was supposed to start last summer but had to be postponed due to various technical problems on the rocket.

This phase 1 should last 25 days in total and intends to provide guarantees as to the level of safety of the capsule for a future crew.