The pink moon sets behind NASA’s Artemis 1 Space Launch System rocket on Saturday, April 16, 2022 (Image credit: Michael Seeley / We Report Space)
A powerful new photo shows NASA’s Artemis 1 rocket on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, against the backdrop of its destination: the moon glowing pink.
Photographer Michael Seeley photographed the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) rocket (with the Orion spacecraft on top) on Saturday (April 16th) from a boat off the coast of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean, a few miles from the launch site, he told SETimes. Space.com in email. Seeley was lucky to see the rocket on the pad as it was about to be returned to a processing facility due to a series of technical problems during testing.
“The images were taken with a large 700mm telephoto lens from a boat in the Atlantic Ocean. We are about seven miles from shore and the water was not calm at all, with swelling of two to four feet, “he said.
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Mega lunar rocket, meet your destination: “The Full Pink Moon” is behind the LC-39A and the SLS rocket in NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, seen on Saturday morning. pic.twitter.com/Q80NSs9trVA April 16, 2022
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Seeley is a co-founder of We Report Space and occasionally contributes to National Geographic. However, he said, getting the image was not easy.
“Since I was shooting with a telephoto lens,” Seeley said, “my main idea was to try to keep the rocket in the frame while I was being pushed; standing was almost impossible. From a technical and physical point of view, it was one of the most challenging shots I took. shot. “
But while conditions were challenging, Seeley said watching the moon move toward the horizon behind Landing Site 39B was “truly magical.”
“It was also difficult,” Sealey added, “to wrap my head around the fact that I was looking at something very close — the Orion spacecraft — which would one day travel to the moon a quarter of a million miles behind it. It’s really mind-boggling. ”
The Artemis 1 space launch system was trying to complete a “wet rehearsal” that began on April 1, but after several unsuccessful refueling attempts, the team decided to transfer the stack from site 39B and back to the vehicle assembly building. KSC to replace a defective valve and address a leaky navel.
Once these issues are addressed and Artemis 1 completes the crucial test, it will be approved for a planned mission to the moon later this year. At the top of the rocket will be the Orion spacecraft, full of experiments and mannequins.
If all goes according to plan, NASA will fly with the first astronauts aboard the SLS in 2024 for Artemis 2, which will also orbit the moon. The Artemis 3 crew must then send astronauts to the moon’s south pole no earlier than 2025, NASA said.
If you want to take a good picture of a future full moon, see our guide on how to photograph the moon. Our review of the best astrophotography cameras and the best astrophotography lenses can help you start finding equipment.
And if you just want to watch the moon, our guides to the best telescopes and the best binoculars can help you find the equipment you need.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and Facebook.
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