The POT has shared a new image of the Moon taken by the crew of the Orion ship during the mission Artemis IIa photograph that has drawn special attention for a detail that, according to the agency itself, represents a true “historical moment.”
The image shows the almost complete lunar disk seen from the spacecraft and, on the right edge, the Eastern basina huge geological structure formed by the impact of a gigantic meteorite billions of years ago.
In the message published on social networks, the space agency explained the relevance of what appears in the photograph: “In this new image of our Artemis II crew you can see the Eastern basin on the right edge of the lunar disk. This mission marks the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes”.
What is the Eastern basin of the Moon and how was it formed?
The Eastern basin is one of the largest Moon impact craters and is characterized by its enormous concentric rings of mountains that extend for hundreds of kilometers. Although it has been studied for decades thanks to probes and satellites, never before has a human being been able to observe it completely with their own eyes from space.
That is precisely the detail that makes this image something special within the mission. As highlighted by the POTthe point of view of the ship allows us to appreciate the complete structure of the ring system that surrounds the basin, something that is impossible from Earth.
Shaded relief of the Eastern basin of the Moon and gravitational anomalies detected by the GRAIL mission. The areas where gravity is strongest have been colored red, and where it is weakest in blue.
The first manned trip to the Moon of the Artemis program
The photograph is part of the material that the crew is capturing during the trip around the Moon on the Artemis II missionthe first manned mission of the Artemis program and the previous step to the return of astronauts to the lunar surface in the coming years.
With each new image sent from the Orion spacecraft, the space agency continues to show Unpublished perspectives of the Earth’s natural satelliteremembering that even a celestial body as studied as the Moon It can still offer views that no human being has ever seen before.