Published: Just now
NASA’s Orion capsule has begun its journey back home after passing around the moon one last time, sending images of both the moon and Earth. The capsule is part of NASA’s Artemis 1 lunar project.
The capsule lost communication with Earth for 30 minutes as it passed 13 miles from the far side of the moon, the hemisphere of the moon that always faces away from Earth.
Images sent from Orion show the moon up close and further away a “moonrise”, where the Earth looks like a new moon.
With the help of gravity from the celestial body, Orion has now started the 38,000 mile journey back to Earth, after circling the moon for a week.
Orion is expected to land in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego on December 11.
The next trip with the Artemis program, planned for 2024, will take four astronauts on a journey around the moon. The third trip, planned for 2025, is supposed to take humans to the moon for the first time since the Apollo program ended 50 years ago.