Watch: Spectacular footage of Earth captured by NASA’s Artemis 1 after launch

After months of delay, the US space agency NASA’s Artemis 1 mission was successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday. NASA live streamed the event on its various social media handles and posted short clips on Twitter. One of these videos shows a spectacular image of Earth fixed on top of a rocket by the spacecraft Orion during its journey to orbit the Moon. The 32-story tall Space Launch System (SLS) exploded at 01:47 (local time), generating a record 8.8 million pounds of thrust.

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NASA shared the footage of Earth captured by the spacecraft on the Twitter handle of the Artemis mission. “As @NASA_Orion launches the #Artemis I mission to the Moon, the spacecraft captures these stunning views of our home planet,” the tweet said in the text.

as @NASA_Orion starts up #artemis The I Mission to the Moon spacecraft captured these stunning views of our home planet. pic.twitter.com/Pzk3PDt7sd

— NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) November 16, 2022

24 second clip shows Earth rocket retreat Running at more than 22,600 mph (36,370 kph) to propel the Orion spacecraft on its way to the Moon.

“Now we’re going back to the Moon, not just to go to the Moon, but to learn how to live on the Moon in preparation for sending humans to Mars,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. ” News conference after the launch.

“This is the next start, this is the Artemis generation,” Mr. Nelson said.

Orion will orbit Earth’s closest neighbor, in a test run for later flights that should include the first woman and first person of color to touch down on lunar soil.

The US last sent astronauts to the Moon during the Apollo era from 1969–1972.

This time it hopes to build a sustained presence — including a lunar space station — to help prepare for an eventual mission to Mars in the 2030s.