When one thinks about spaceflight, underwater photography is typically not one of the first things that come to mind.
However, in the case of the recent Artemis 2 lunar mission, Navy divers were stationed underwater to capture the crew's return to Earth, according to Futurism.
The result was stunning photos capturing a perspective rarely, if ever, seen previously. One image shared by NASA revealed the scene after splashdown:
Aside from their beauty and the sense of mystery they evoke, the images also serve a practical purpose. They will allow experts to examine the performance of the vehicle's heat shield at the time of the crew's ocean landing.
In addition to capturing the scene from underwater, NASA filmed it from above.
"Airborne imagery of Orion's crew module also was obtained during reentry and will be reviewed in the coming weeks," NASA said. "The imagery will provide insight into the timing of when minimal char loss occurred as well as other heat-shield data."
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The heat shield protects the crew upon reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. For years, it has been one of the top concerns for the Artemis mission.
During the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission in 2022, the heat shield sustained major damage.
However, early indications seemed to show that the heat shield on Artemis 2's Orion capsule performed well.
"The ceramic tiles on the upper conical backshell of the crew module also performed as expected," NASA said.
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The heat shield is not the only challenge facing NASA as it seeks to return humans to the moon in 2028.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin recently suffered a major setback when its New Glenn rocket failed to deliver a commercial satellite to the intended orbit.
The New Glenn was slated to play a major role in the upcoming Artemis 3 mission, but the Federal Aviation Administration has grounded the rocket pending further investigation into the mission's failure.
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