We’ll see some jaw-dropping images from NASA’s Artemis I moon mission. We’ll feast our eyes on lunar craters. We might catch an excellent Earthrise. However at present, my coronary heart is quietly imploding over a easy black and white photograph of Earth as seen by the Orion spacecraft two days after launch.
By now, you already know NASA lastly despatched its much-delayed uncrewed Artemis I mission into area for a visit across the moon. Maybe you’ve got seen a few of Orion’s views of our blue planet. I noticed these, too, and I marveled at them, however this new photograph struck me a distinct method. I paused. I traced the summary swirls of clouds. I stared into the darkish of area. I did not really feel small. I felt as expansive because the universe.
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How NASA Captured the First Artemis Moon Images with…
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Orion captured the view using a navigation camera, one of a bevy of cameras it has on board. It’s not the highest-resolution photo of Earth. It’s not the most colorful. It’s not the fanciest, and therein lies its beauty. It communicates our place in the universe the way photographer Robert Frank captured the culture of America. It’s a casual snapshot, any given moment on any given day.
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I don’t know if we’re alone in the cosmos. I don’t think we are. The only way we’ll find out is by reaching out beyond our world. The Artemis era has begun, but it’s not just about the moon. It’s not even just about humans reaching Mars some day. It’s about seeing ourselves as local, as global, as universal.
It’s a simple black and white photo of Earth seen from a way-finding camera on board a spaceship. I’m there somewhere, invisible but present. Everyone I have ever loved and will ever love is there. We are small. We are everything.
