These are the last pictures of the Moon taken by NASA

The panoramic views provided to the world this year by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the United States, known as NASA, were impressive. Once again, this North American government agency has shared recent photos taken 390,000 km from Earth.

One of the artifacts of the Artemis program that is still in effect is the Orion spacecraft, which is orbiting in outer space and has already begun its journey towards its birthplace (Earth). It was precisely through this path that it was possible to get New photos loved by astronomy enthusiasts and the curious in general.

The best part is that Not only did the moon take center stage in NASA’s latest photoshoot, but you can also see the blue planet and part of the famous spacecraft.

The pictures look like they were taken from a movie about the wonders of the universe. Inside, part of Orion’s infrastructure seems small compared to its natural satellite. Relative to Earth, the planet is seen farther away in the two shots, although it is seen as a red dot and many have compared it to Mars. However, NASA itself made it clear that, in fact, this is the planet inhabited by people.

Together, those responsible for outer space exploration detailed that one of the images was taken at the exact moment Orion flew behind the moon. This happened on December 5, when the spacecraft approached the celestial body on its second and final mission at 11:43 am (PET), 129 kilometers from its surface before returning.

in the same vein, Another image showed a camera on the Orion solar array stand, the Moon at an angle and the third planet closest to the Sun, Earth, in the background with more light.

The mission with Orion has been classified by NASA as a success, in addition to that organization describing the recent images as an “important achievement” of Artemis. According to the space agency’s plan, the spacecraft capsule is expected to enter the Earth’s atmosphere in a few days, and if the schedule continues, it will be retrieved on December 11th.

NASA is advancing the development of moon camping technologies

NASA recently awarded ICON, a construction technology company and leader in large-scale 3D printing, located in Austin, US, Contract to begin construction of infrastructure such as landing pads, habitats and roads on the lunar surface.

“To explore other worlds, we need innovative new technologies designed to fit those environments and our exploration needs. Driving this development forward with our commercial partners will create the capabilities we need for missions,” said Niki Werheiser, technology maturity manager for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). future.

The contract with Icon is dual-use, in the form of a new NASA SBIR Phase III award with the US Air Force and funded in part by NASA. The award will be based on ICON’s business activities and other work with the space agency. The deal will run until 2028 and is valued at $57.2 million.

The agreement calls for the development of ICON’s building system, which is designed to use local resources on the Moon and Mars as building materials.

ICON has already worked on this kind of space infrastructure. For NASA, he 3D printed a simulated 1,700-square-foot Mars habitat, called Mars Dune Alpha. This will be used during the Crew Health and Performance Analog mission starting in 2023.