At 4:52 p.m.
EST (21:52 UTC) on a momentous November 16, the Orion spacecraft embarked on a pivotal stage of the Artemis I mission.
Positioned in a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon, this orbital trajectory deviates from the conventional, reaching a high altitude above the lunar surface and aligning opposite to the Moon's natural path around Earth.
The spacecraft executed a precision burn to achieve this strategic positioning, a maneuver that symbolized the culmination of meticulous planning and cutting-edge engineering.