As some of you probably already know, NASA successfully launched its Artemis rocket yesterday in a prelude to a return to the lunar surface three years from now.
In the meantime, we’re going to get some new pictures of the Earth and moon, NASA writes in a blog post detailing the success of the mission and what’s to come next.
Equipped with 24 cameras intended to capture every single minute of the journey to and from the moon, Artemis 1 will send the Orion spacecraft on a dry run for a planned return three years down the road. Interestingly, Orion’s four solar array wings use heavily-modified off-the-shelf cameras, imagery integration lead for the Orion Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston David Melendrez told NASA’s blog.
These four cameras will provide NASA with views of critical parts of the spacecraft as well as allow for documentation of its surroundings. Cameras will also come in ranges from standard def to hi-def and 4K depending on the agency’s needs. NASA also addressed how the planned mission’s output will differ from the original lunar landings. For one thing, there will be live streaming, although at a lower quality rate than what will be captured on board the craft and possibly not viewable until after the astronauts return to Earth.
One system, called Callisto, is intended to provide viewers on Earth with a simulated view of what it would be like to be inside the craft with the astronauts during their mission. Iconic moments like Earthrise and others will also be a priority for the mission to capture which, again, will likely be quite different from what we saw during the original lunar landings thanks to advances in technological capabilities.
You can read up about it over on NASA. And if you’d like some more astrophotography news, check out our latest on the James Webb telescope.
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[NASA]
