On Monday, as part of the last phases of the Artemis 1 mission, NASA's Orion spacecraft flew past the moon once again, affording breathtaking views of Earth and our planetary neighbour.

Orion made its last close encounter to the moon, flying past the moon's far side at a speed of around 4,800 mph. The spacecraft's cameras recorded Earth as it rose above the horizon and looped around the moon after Orion had completed its last flyby.


Ever since its Nov. 16 launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the spacecraft's array of cameras has been transmitting live footage of the moon and Earth back to Earth.

At 11:43 a.m. EST, the orbital manoeuvre engine fired for 3 minutes and 27 seconds, successfully completing the return-powered flyby (RPF) run and setting Orion on course for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on December 11.

According to NASA officials, the Orion spacecraft sailed over several of the Apollo landing sites during its last lunar flyby, which brought the spacecraft to within around 80 miles of the moon's surface.


While Orion was on the far side of the moon 30 minutes before the flyby, NASA lost contact with it.

The view of the lunar craters and features, as well as the planet Earth, that Orion saw after the link was reestablished with the Deep Space Network, was stunning. This perspective will be accessible once again when NASA astronauts do the same orbit around the moon during the Artemis II mission.

In order to go back to Earth, Orion has to go through a sequence of engine burns. A 45-second "departure burn" from a "distant retrograde orbit" (DRO) occurred last week, marking the beginning of the spacecraft's journey home.


The spaceship has started its return trip to Earth.

The spacecraft's sensors snapped the last close-up images of the moon as it started its departure from the lunar surface.

On the morning of December 11 at around 11 a.m., Orion will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California, where rescue crews from the United States Navy will be standing by.


For NASA's Orion capsule recovery, favourable weather conditions include calm seas, light winds, and no precipitation.

Even though there won't be any people on board Artemis 1, the mission will serve as a dress rehearsal for Artemis II, when NASA hopes to send two astronauts on a circumlunar voyage aboard Orion. The next step is Artemis III, the first lunar landing by humans in half a century.

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