Nasa has released a rare video of a solar eclipse captured from space, as astronauts aboard the Artemis II mission reach the halfway point on their journey back to Earth. According to Nasa, the Orion spacecraft is on track to splash down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego at approximately 8.07 pm ET on Friday (5.37 am IST on Saturday).The footage, recorded by cameras mounted on Orion’s solar array wings, shows the Moon moving across the Sun, gradually blocking its light and revealing a glowing halo known as the solar corona. The visuals provide a rare deep-space perspective of a solar eclipse, a phenomenon usually observed from Earth.
In a post on X, Nasa described the visuals, saying, “This video stitches together views from Orion’s solar array wing cameras throughout the eclipse, showing the Sun as it disappears behind the Moon, revealing a glowing halo around the lunar disk.”
The milestone comes as the crew returns after completing a lunar flyby, marking a crucial phase of the mission. Artemis II is Nasa’s first crewed mission under its Artemis program and is designed to test spacecraft systems, navigation, and crew operations in deep space.
Nasa released the stitched video from multiple onboard cameras, offering both scientists and the public a unique look at the alignment of the Sun, Moon and spacecraft. The Artemis program aims to return humans to the Moon for the first time in decades and establish a long-term presence, paving the way for future human missions to Mars.
