Close-up shot of the far side of the Moon taken by Artemis I Orion spacecraft

The Optical Navigation camera onboard Orion, NASA's Artemis I spacecraft, captured this far side of the Moon during the close lunar flyby of Flight day six of the mission.

The uncrewed spacecraft powered its main thruster on the European Service Module to slingshot around the Moon at 13:44 CET (12:44 GMT) on Monday, 21 November 2022, just five days after liftoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.

The European Service Module (ESM), the spacecraft's powerhouse is providing propulsion, temperature control, electricity as well as storage and delivery for essential supplies such as fuel, water and air.

Images of the far side of the Moon, taken by the optical navigation camera on the @NASA_Orion spacecraft during the #Artemis I close lunar flyby, are available! See 👉 https://t.co/jx2NtUZBDY #ForwardToTheMoon pic.twitter.com/PBOfKgvfRQ

— ESA (@esa) November 24, 2022

On Saturday, Nov. 26, Orion will pass the record set by Apollo 13 for the farthest distance travelled by a spacecraft designed for humans at 248,655 miles from Earth, and the spacecraft will reach its maximum distance from Earth of 268,552 miles Monday, Nov. 28. The mission will conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on 11 December 2023.

For the unversed, NASA's Artemis I mission is an uncrewed test mission, putting the spacecraft through its paces preparing to send astronauts forward to the Moon.

More images from the Artemis I lunar flyby are available here.