Artemis I mission shares spectacular view of Earth after a historic launch

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The historic Artemis I mission took flight in the early hours of Wednesday morning after months of anticipation. The milestone event kicked off a journey that will send an uncrewed spacecraft around the moon, paving the way for NASA to return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time in half a century.

The Orion spacecraft’s spectacular first views of Earth were shared more than nine hours into the journey, with the vehicle about 57,000 miles away from our planet on its way to the moon.

It’s the first time since the final Apollo mission in 1972 that a spacecraft designed to carry humans to the moon has captured a view of Earth.

The Orion spacecraft shared its first view of Earth more than nine hours after launch Wednesday morning.

The towering, 322-foot-tall (98-meter-tall) Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket lit its engines at 1:47 a.m. ET. It emitted up to 9 million pounds (4.1 million kilograms) of thrust to haul itself off the launchpad in Florida and into the air, streaking vibrantly across the night sky.

NASA's Artemis I Moon rocket is rolled out to Launch Pad Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on August 16, 2022. - Artemis 1, an uncrewed test flight, will feature the first blastoff of the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will be the most powerful in the world when it goes into operation. It will propel the Orion crew capsule into orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft will remain in space for 42 days before returning to Earth. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Why NASA is returning to the moon 50 years later with Artemis I

Atop the rocket was the Orion spacecraft, a gumdrop-shaped capsule that broke away from the rocket after reaching space. Orion is designed to carry humans, but its passengers for this test mission are of the inanimate variety, including some mannequins collecting vital data to help future live crews.

The SLS rocket expended millions of pounds of fuel before parts of the rocket began breaking away, and Orion was left to soar through orbit with just one large engine. That engine then set off two powerful burns to put the spacecraft on the correct trajectory toward the moon. Then, about two hours after liftoff, the rocket engine also fell away, leaving Orion to free-fly for the remainder of its journey.

On the 20th day of the Artemis I mission, NASA's Orion spacecraft made its second close flyby of the moon's surface.

NASA's Orion capsule splashes down off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, on December 11 after a successful 25.5-day mission.

NASA's Orion spacecraft captured a photo of the Earth and moon on the twelfth day of the Artemis I mission. Orion reaching a maximum distance of nearly 270,000 miles from Earth, before beginning the trip back.

NASA's Orion spacecraft uses its optical navigation camera to take a black-and-white photo of the moon on day six of the mission.

The inside of the Orion crew module is seen on day one in space. At left is Commander Moonikin Campos, a mannequin equipped with sensors to collect data that will help scientists and engineers understand the deep-space environment for future missions.

On the first day of the Artemis I mission, this photo was captured by a camera on the tip of one of Orion's solar arrays. NASA says the spacecraft was 57,000 miles from Earth when the image was taken.

Spectators cheer as the Artemis I rocket lifts off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on November 16.

Spectators watch the launch of the the Artemis I rocket.

People watch the launch from the Banana Creek viewing site at Kennedy Space Center.

The Artemis I rocket lifts off through the night sky, seen in this long-exposure photograph taken from Merritt Island, Florida.

Guests at the Banana Creek viewing site wait for the launch on November 15.

Technicians inspect the Artemis I rocket on November 13, after hurricane force winds caused minor damage.

Photographers set up remote cameras in front of the launch pad on November 12.

The Artemis I rocket rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building on its way back to Launch Pad 39B shortly after midnight on November 4.

The Artemis I spacecraft is rolled back to NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building on September 27, the day of the third launch attempt. Hurricane Ian's approach forced NASA to postpone yet again.

Before the launch was scrubbed on September 3, spectators wait for the NASA Artemis I rocket to launch at the Kennedy Space Center.

The NASA launch countdown clock was stopped after the launch was delayed on August 29.

A satellite view of the Artemis I spacecraft on August 25.

The rocket sits at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B on August 17.

A solid rocket booster motor fires up on July 21 at Northrop Grumman's test facility in Promontory, Utah. The booster motor, positioned horizontally for the ground test, fired for a little over two minutes and produced 3.6 million pounds of thrust, according to NASA.

The moon peeks behind the Artemis I rocket in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on June 15, days before a wet dress rehearsal test of NASA's Space Launch System.

A spectator takes a selfie in front of Artemis I on March 17, ahead of NASA's first wet dress rehearsal.

Teams from Johnson Space Center, Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs TOSC conduct final inspections of a mannequin on November 9, 2021. The mannequin, called Commander Moonikin Campos in honor of NASA engineer Arturo Campos, is one of three mannequins that will take the place of humans aboard the Orion spacecraft.

Michael Boyer, a meteorological data specialist, prepares weather balloons for an Artemis I weather simulation at Cape Canaveral on November 3, 2021.

The fully assembled Orion spacecraft is lifted above the Space Launch System rocket at Kennedy Space Center on October 20, 2021. The stacking completed assembly for the Artemis I flight test.

Spectators take photos at the unveiling of the Orion spacecraft for Artemis I at NASA's Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, on March 14, 2020.

In pictures: NASA's historic Artemis I mission

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Nearly eight hours after launch, Orion experienced its outbound trajectory correction burn, a mission milestone that ensures the spacecraft stays on the right path. The burn sets Orion up for its lunar flyby and closest approach of the moon on November 21 before entering a distant retrograde orbit around the moon on November 25.

Orion will come within about 60 miles (96 kilometers) of the lunar surface during its close flyby next week.

The spacecraft is outfitted with 16 cameras inside and outside to document its trip around the moon from different perspectives. One image shared Wednesday showed Commander Moonikin Campos, one of the Artemis mannequins riding in the capsule, decked out in a survival suit.

Commander Moonikin Campos (left) can be seen sitting inside the Orion capsule.

Orion is expected to log roughly 1.3 million miles (2 million kilometers), taking a path that will lead it farther than any other spacecraft designed for human flight has traveled, according to NASA. After orbiting the moon, Orion will make its return trip, completing its journey in about 25.5 days. The capsule is then scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego on December 11, when recovery teams will be waiting nearby to haul it to safety.

Throughout the mission, NASA engineers will be keeping a close eye on the spacecraft’s performance. The team will evaluate whether Orion performs as intended and will be ready to support its first crewed mission to lunar orbit, which is currently scheduled for 2024.

This mission also marks the debut flight of the SLS rocket as the most powerful ever to reach Earth’s orbit, boasting 15% more thrust than the Saturn V rocket that powered NASA’s 20th century moon landings.

Related article Artemis I will deliver the first biology experiment to deep space

And this mission is just the first in what’s expected to be a long series of increasingly difficult Artemis missions as NASA works toward its goal of establishing a permanent outpost at the moon. Artemis II will follow a similar path as Artemis I but will have astronauts on board. Artemis III, slated for later this decade, is expected to land a woman and a person of color on the lunar surface for the first time.

A long road to liftoff

The mission team encountered a number of setbacks in the lead-up to Wednesday morning’s launch, including technical issues with the mega moon rocket and two hurricanes that have rolled through the launch site.

Fueling the SLS rocket with superchilled liquid hydrogen proved to be one main issue that forced NASA to wave off earlier takeoff attempts, but on Tuesday, the tanks were filled despite leak issues that halted fueling hours before launch.

Read more: The big numbers that make the Artemis I mission a monumental feat

To address that problem, NASA deployed what it calls a “red crew” — a group of personnel specially trained to make repairs while the rocket is loaded with propellant. They tightened some nuts and bolts to stop the fuel leaks.

“The rocket, it’s alive, it’s creaking, its making venting noises — it’s pretty scary. So … my heart was pumping. My nerves were going but, yeah, we showed up today. When we walked up the stairs. We were ready to rock and roll,” red crew member Trent Annis said in an interview on NASA TV after launch.

Other NASA personnel at the launch site’s firing room, where agency officials make crucial decisions in the hours and moments before liftoff, celebrated a victory.

“Well for once I might be speechless,” said Artemis I launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, the first woman to hold such a role.

“I have talked a lot about appreciating the moment that you’re in,” Blackwell-Thompson said in remarks to the engineers in the firing room. “And we have worked hard as a team. You guys have worked hard as a team to this moment. This is your moment.”

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Blackwell-Thompson then declared it was time for tie-cutting, a NASA tradition in which launch operators snip off the ends of their business ties. Blackwell-Thompson’s was cut by shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach, and she pledged to the others in the room, “I’ll stay all night if I have to. It’ll be my pleasure to cut ties.”

Several astronauts were on-site for the launch, and NASA administrator Bill Nelson told reporters that he watched liftoff from a nearby rooftop with a few of the them.

“There were a bunch there that would like to be on that rocket,” Nelson said.

INTERACTIVE: Trace the path Artemis I will take around the moon and back