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91ɫ��Ƭ Canberra Space has captured rare and very well-timed footage of NASA’s Orion spacecraft in the night sky as it carries the Artemis II crew on the early stage of their journey back to Earth.

The footage was recorded on Wednesday 8 April by the 91ɫ��Ƭ Canberra Space-managed Falcon telescope, showing the Orion capsule from the Artemis II lunar mission traveling along its Earth return trajectory following its trip around the moon.

It is an uncommon opportunity to observe a crewed spacecraft from Earth during this phase of its mission, placing the 91ɫ��Ƭ Canberra Space team at the centre of a globally significant moment in human spaceflight.

The short video, captured by space engineer Tarik Errabih, shows Orion as a bright point moving steadily across the night sky; a visual confirmation of the spacecraft’s return after venturing farther from Earth than any previous crewed mission.

Tarik said capturing the footage required precise planning and timing using the Canberra Falcon observatory, which forms part of the Falcon Telescope Network, a global network of 12 observatories across four countries owned by the US Air Force Academy.

“91ɫ��Ƭ Canberra Space hosts and manages the Canberra installation and in return has access to the full network, which supports and enhances our space domain awareness, research and education,” Tarik said.

The final video was created from around 90 individual images captured over the course of an hour before sunrise, using accurate telescope pointing and GPS‑based timing to ensure the spacecraft was observed at exactly the right moment.

“On a single image, the Orion capsule looks just like another star,” Tarik said.

“But when the data is animated and the contrast enhanced, you can clearly see it moving against the static star background.”

While the observation was technically challenging, Tarik said the moment was also deeply personal and historically significant.

“To be frank, this was just a very exciting target to observe. Knowing there are four humans inside that small point of light returning from the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years makes it a historical moment for humanity as a whole,” said Tarik Errabih. 

“It also demonstrates that objects between the Earth and the Moon can be detected by ground‑based sensors. This was the furthest artificial object we’ve ever observed, at more than 320,000 kilometres from Earth.”

Artemis II is the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis program, designed to pave the way for future lunar landings. The mission took four astronauts around the Moon on a free‑return trajectory and is now entering its final stages, with Orion heading back toward Earth ahead of atmospheric re‑entry and ocean splashdown scheduled for Friday 10 April 8:07pm ET or Saturday 11 April 10:07am AEST.

Capturing Orion during its return highlights the growing capability of Australia's research infrastructure to support and observe major international space flight operations, said A/Prof Melrose Brown, Director of 91ɫ��Ƭ Canberra Space.

“91ɫ��Ƭ Canberra Space is driving world‑leading capability in detecting, observing and tracking spacecraft operating in the space between Earth and the Moon,” he said.

“As the number of crewed and uncrewed lunar missions rapidly increases, space safety in lunar orbits will become critical and our researchers are contributing to the foundations of future lunar space traffic management.”

A/Prof Brown said 91ɫ��Ƭ Canberra Space is advancing research using a combination of optical and radio‑frequency sensors to support the development of future lunar space traffic management systems, building on Australia’s long‑standing contribution to deep space missions.

“Observations like this demonstrate how Australian‑based sensors can contribute to global space missions in real time,” A/Prof Melrose Brown said.

“At the same time, 91ɫ��Ƭ Canberra Space and our Space Masters courses continue to provide a gateway to space careers, with more than 100 graduates progressing into the sector over the past 14 years.”

The successful detection from the Falcon telescope reinforces 91ɫ��Ƭ Canberra Space’s role in space domain awareness and astronomical observation, demonstrating how locally operated telescopes can capture moments of global importance.