NASA’s Orion capsule and its test dummies flew past the moon on Monday, December 5, 2022 as it heads towards Planet Earth.

Orion will aim for a Pacific splashdown on Sunday, December 11, 2022 off San Diego, setting the stage for astronauts on the next flight in a couple years.

The capsule passed within 80 miles (130 kilometers) of the far side of the moon, using the lunar gravity as a slingshot for the 237,000-mile (380,000-kilometer) ride back to Earth.

It spent a week in a wide, sweeping lunar orbit.

Orion captured photos of a close-up moon and a crescent Earth when it emerged from behind the moon and regained communication with flight controllers in Houston.

The capsule also passed over the landing sites of Apollo 12 and 14.

However, at 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) up, it was too high to make out the descent stages of the lunar landers or anything else left behind by astronauts more than a half-century ago.

During a similar flyover two weeks ago, it was too dark for pictures. This time, it was daylight.

Orion’s Test Flight Exceeds Expectations

According to NASA officials, the three-week test flight has exceeded expectations so far.

The biggest challenge, however, still lies ahead; hitting the atmosphere at more than 30 times the speed of sound and surviving the fiery reentry.

On November 16, 2022, Orion blasted off on the debut flight of NASA’s most powerful rocket ever; the Space Launch System or SLS.

This first flight, Artemis-1, has been all about testing systems in the absence of astronauts.

The next flight, Artemis-2 which is slated for as early as 2024, will attempt to carry four astronauts around the moon.

The third mission, Artemis-3 is most eagerly anticipated. It is targeted for 2025 and will feature the first lunar landing by astronauts since the Apollo moon program ended 50 years ago this month.

Apollo 17 rocketed away on December 7, 1972, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, carrying Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt and Ron Evans.

Cernan and Schmitt spent three days on the lunar surface, the longest stay of the Apollo era, while Evans orbited the moon. Only Schmitt is still alive.