                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2023 November 18

                           Planet Earth from Orion
                        Image Credit: NASA, Artemis I

   Explanation: One year ago a Space Launch System rocket left planet
   Earth on November 16, 2022 at 1:47am EST carrying the Orion spacecraft
   on the Artemis I mission, the first integrated test of NASA’s deep
   space exploration systems. Over an hour after liftoff from Kennedy
   Space Center's historic Launch Complex 39B, one of Orion's external
   video cameras captured this view of its new perspective from space. In
   the foreground are Orion's Orbital Maneuvering System engine and
   auxillary engines, at the bottom of the European Service Module. Beyond
   one of the module's 7-meter long extended solar array wings lies the
   spacecraft's beautiful home world. Making close flybys of the lunar
   surface and reaching a retrograde orbit 70,000 kilometers beyond the
   Moon, the uncrewed Artemis I mission lasted over 25 days, testing
   capabilities to enable human exploration of the Moon and Mars. Building
   on the success of Artemis I, no earlier than November 2024 the Artemis
   II mission with a crew of 4 will venture around the Moon and back
   again.

                         Tomorrow's picture: Sun day
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

