NASA Orion spacecraft sends back stunning photos of its last lunar flyby

NASA’s Orion spacecraft showed us some awe-inspiring photos during its trip to the moon. And now, it’s on its way back to Earth with NASA teams preparing for splashdown. Of course, it’s not coming back without stunning photos of the moon. Right before heading back, Orion snapped some photos of its final lunar flyby – and I’m sure they’ll make you excited about the lunar missions yet to come.

Orion already took some detailed shots of the moon on its first near pass to our satellite’s surface. They were captured with Orion’s Optical Navigation Camera, so they were not really of the highest quality and resolution. However, the photos from the latest flyby were shot with the solar array-mounted GoPros. They’re much clearer and have higher resolution.

The unmanned Orion spacecraft is a part of the Artemis I mission. It’s the future home to four astronauts who will be sent to the moon as a part of the Artemis mission, but right now, it just went up there to test everything out. Of course, taking photos and videos is not its primary mission, but it sure made photographers and space enthusiasts happy.

As the spacecraft continues its trip back to Earth, it keeps capturing photos and video along the way. So, maybe we’ll see some more stunning photos before the mission ends. In the meantime, enjoy the remaining photos from Orion’s final lunar flyby.

[via Engadget]