US woman captures Artemis II launch from flight, NASA calls it ‘first class view’
More than five decades after humans last travelled beyond Earth’s orbit, NASA on Wednesday launched astronauts around the Moon as part of the Artemis II mission. The launch took place within its scheduled window between 6.24 pm ET and 8.24 pm ET from the Kennedy Space Center.A woman shared a rare mid air view of Artemis II launch, gaining over 38 million views. (Instagram/ksmathandmore)(Also read: Watch: NASA launches Artemis II, first crewed Moon mission in over 50 years)A powerful rocket is carrying four astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Chrina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, on a 10 day journey around the Moon before returning to Earth. While the crew will not land on the lunar surface, the mission marks a significant step towards future human landings.Viral view from 30,000 feetAs millions watched the launch from the ground, one airline passenger experienced the moment from a rare vantage point. A New Jersey based woman named Kim captured the Artemis II launch from her flight and shared the clip on Instagram, calling it the “coolest angle”.In the caption, she wrote, “Had a once in a lifetime flight experience tonight on our way home. Thanks @united for letting us reroute a bit to see the launch of Artemis II from the coolest angle!”Take a look here at the clip:The video quickly gained traction online, amassing more than 38 million views and drawing widespread reactions.NASA joins the conversationEven NASA joined the excitement in the comments section. Responding to the viral clip, the agency’s official Instagram account wrote, “That’s what we call a first class view!”(Also read: Where is Artemis II now? How to track NASA’s Moon mission in real time)Social media users flooded the post with reactions. One user wrote, “This is absolutely unreal, imagine seeing this from a plane window,” while another commented, “Best flight experience ever, nothing comes close to this view.” A third added, “I would never forget this moment in my life,” as another said, “This is why space missions still inspire millions across the world.” One more user wrote, “United Airlines just unlocked a new level of customer experience,” while another remarked, “This gave me goosebumps, what a stunning sight.”A crucial step towards the MoonAccording to NASA, Artemis II is designed to test life support systems and other critical technologies aboard the Orion spacecraft, which is built to carry humans deeper into space than ever before.Although the astronauts will remain thousands of miles away from the Moon at their closest point, the mission is expected to pave the way for future crewed lunar landings under the Artemis programme.
