NASA’s Artemis 1 mission is in full swing, with the agency’s SLS megarocket blasting off earlier this morning from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The freshly launched Orion spacecraft is heading to the Moon, but it captured a sweet view of Earth before saying goodbye.
Orion will travel for 25 days, logging 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) beyond the Moon before returning to Earth. During the first few hours of its trip, Orion captured gorgeous views of our home planet glimmering in a soft shade of blue against the dark backdrop of space.
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at 1:47 a.m. ET on Wednesday, November 16. About an hour after liftoff, Orion successfully separated from the rocket’s upper stage to initiate its solo trip to the Moon. The spacecraft performed a trans-lunar injection maneuver, which propels it on its path to the Moon and accelerates its speed to more than 22,600 miles …