NASA has shared a detailed, high-resolution image of the Moon's Orientale Basin, a massive impact crater. The image was captured by the Orion spacecraft's optical navigation camera during the uncrewed Artemis I mission in November 2022, not by a human crew. The view provides valuable scientific data on the basin's structure.
The Orientale Basin is one of the youngest and best-preserved large impact basins on the Moon. Its distinct rings are visible in the image, offering clues about the formation of multi-ring basins, a process common to impacts across the solar system.
The Artemis II mission, which will carry astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen on a lunar flyby, is scheduled for launch no earlier than September 2025. The crew will not land on the Moon but will test systems for future Artemis missions.
NASA states that the imagery from Artemis I, including this view of Orientale, is crucial for planning future crewed and robotic exploration of the lunar surface.
