{"date":"2025-12-13","explanation":"On December 5, 2022, a camera on board the u ncrewed Orion spacecraft captured this view as Orion approached its return power ed flyby of the Moon. Beyond one of Orion's extended solar arrays lies dark, sm ooth, terrain along the western edge of the Oceanus Procellarum. Prominent on th e lunar nearside Oceanus Procellarum, the Ocean of Storms, is the largest of the Moon's lava-flooded maria. The lunar terminator, the shadow line between lunar night and day, runs along the left of this frame. The 41 kilometer diameter crat er Marius is top center, with ray crater Kepler peeking in at the edge, just rig ht of the solar array wing. Kepler's bright rays extend to the north and west, r eaching the dark-floored Marius. By December 11, 2022 the Orion spacecraft had r eturned to its home world. The historic Artemis 1 mission ended with Orion's suc cessful splashdown in planet Earth's water-flooded Pacific Ocean. Watch: The Ge minid Meteor Shower","hdurl":"https:\/\/apod.nasa.gov\/apod\/image\/2512\/art001 e002132.jpg","media_type":"image","service_version":"v1","title":"Orion and the Ocean of Storms","url":"https:\/\/apod.nasa.gov\/apod\/image\/2512\/art001e00213 2_apod1024.jpg"}
