Artemis II’s Breathtaking View of the Far Side of the Moon

NASA has finally released the first photos taken by the Artemis II astronauts, just after they completed 40 minutes of disconnection on the far side of the moon. Thanks to that moment, Earth has a new “selfie” taken from the far hemisphere of the satellite, an image reminiscent of the famous “Earthrise” photo captured by the crew of the Apollo 8 mission in December 1968.

The Orion spacecraft circled the moon and passed between 6,000 and 7,000 kilometers from its surface. That distance was enough for the crew to document the lunar topography with professional cameras and telephoto lenses. Although other astronauts have crossed over to the dark side before, this is the first visit with contemporary technology capable of recording details with such sharpness.

Artemis II's primary purpose is to demonstrate that NASA can execute a crewed trip around the moon without mishap. Even so, the crew took advantage of the flyby to perform scientific tasks: terrain reconnaissance and observation of the sun's behavior. The human return to lunar soil will come with Artemis IV, a mission scheduled for before 2030.

The new images will make it possible to improve lunar maps. Today, it is no longer enough to count craters. Scientists need to assess whether certain regions may harbor resources essential to human presence, such as frozen water. The structures near the south pole remain the most promising, after 4.5 billion years in almost permanent shadow.

According to the space agency, the astronauts took turns photographing this region of the moon during the seven-hour approach, working in pairs. At their closest point to the surface, about 6,550 km, the moon looked to the naked eye like a ball held 40 centimeters from the face. The sharpness of the images was due to the professional photographic equipment they carried aboard.

After completing the flyby, Orion began its four-day journey back to Earth. If all goes according to plan, the capsule will enter the atmosphere on April 10 and splash down in the Pacific Ocean.

This story originally appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.