Moon Science: Orientale Basin Views | NASA Artemis II Mission
In this view of the Moon, taken by the Artemis II crew at 2:19 p.m. EDT, just before the crew began their observation period, Orientale basin is visible in the center with a black patch of ancient lava in the center that punched through the Moon’s crust in an eruption billions of years ago. This 600-mile-wide impact crater lies along the transition between the near and far sides and is sometimes partly visible from Earth. The small, bright crater to its left is Byrgius, which has 250-mile rays extending out from its basin.
During their lunar flyby observation period, the Artemis II crew captured this image at 3:41 p.m. EDT, showing the rings of the Orientale basin, one of the Moon’s youngest and best-preserved large impact craters. These concentric rings offer scientists a rare window into how massive impacts shape planetary surfaces, helping refine models of crater formation and the Moon’s geologic history. At the 10 o’clock position of the Orientale basin, the two smaller craters that the Artemis II crew has suggested be named Integrity and Carroll—are visible. These show how crew observations can support surface feature identification for lunar science.
Just over half of the Moon fills the left half of the image. The near side, characterized by the dark patches of ancient lava, is visible on the top third of the lunar disk. Orientale basin, a round crater in the center with a black patch of ancient lava in the center, is wrapped in rings of mountains. The round black spot northeast of Orientale is Grimaldi crater, and Aristarchus crater is the bright white dot in the midst of a dark grey lava flow at the top of the image.
NASA’s Orion spacecraft is seen in the foreground, lit up by the Sun. A first quarter Moon is visible behind it with sunlight coming from the right. Near the bottom right edge of the Moon, Orientale basin stands out with a black patch of ancient lava in its center. A 600-mile-wide impact crater ringed by mountains, Orientale straddles the near and far sides of the Moon.
The Orion spacecraft is seen in the foreground lit up by the Sun. A waxing gibbous Moon is visible in the background. Orientale basin, a 600-mile-wide impact crater ringed by mountains, is visible toward the center bottom of the Moon. This basin straddles the Moon’s near and far sides. The area to the left of Orientale, a patch of ancient lava in its basin, is the far side; this is the hemisphere we do not see from Earth. To the right of Orientale is the near side, the hemisphere we look upon from Earth. The nearside is notable for giant, dark patches of ancient lave flows that cover its surface.
The large crater visible in these images is Orientale basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide crater that straddles the Moon’s near and far sides. Orientale's left half is not visible from Earth, but in these images we have a full view of the crater. Part of the crater is on the far side, the hemisphere we do not get to see from Earth because the Moon rotates on its axis at the same rate that it orbits round us.
The Orientale Basin, also known as Mare Orientale, located on the far side of the Moon, is a massive, multi-ringed impact structure formed about 3.8 billion years ago during the Late Heavy Bombardment. It is the youngest and best-preserved of the Moon's large impact basins, measuring roughly 950 kilometers (about 590 miles) across. The basin's three concentric rings of mountain ranges, resembling a giant bullseye, formed by a massive asteroid impact, provide critical data on how massive impacts shaped the early solar system. It is used as a baseline to compare other impact craters on rocky worlds from Mercury to Pluto.
On April 6, 2026, the Artemis II Mission wrapped up a historic seven-hour lunar flyby, marking humanity’s first return to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 and capturing images of the lunar far side. As they flew over the Moon’s far side, the crew photographed and described terrain features including impact craters, ancient lava flows, and surface cracks and ridges formed as the Moon slowly evolved over time.
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist onboard launched on the Artemis II mission, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA’s Artemis II Mission is taking Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back aboard their Orion spacecraft.
Track NASA’s Artemis II Mission in real time:
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis-ii/arow/
Check the Artemis blog for updates:
Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Date: April 6, 2026
#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #LunarFlyby #OrientaelBasin #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #SLS #CrewedMissions #Astronauts #ChristinaKoch #ReidWiseman #VictorGlover #JeremyHansen #CSA #Canada #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #NASAJohnson #JSC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education
No comments:
Post a Comment