Artemis II crew breaks distance record, circles the Moon and heads home
- At 1:57 PM ET, Artemis II’s Orion spacecraft broke the record for the farthest distance traveled by humans from Earth.
- At approximately 6:44 a.m. ET, as the spacecraft passed behind the Moon, Mission Control lost contact with the crew for about 40 minutes.
- At about 7 a.m. ET, the crew made closest approach to the moon, when the astronauts became the first humans to view the far side of the moon with the naked eye.
- At approximately 8:32 pm ET the spacecraft entered an eclipse, in which the Sun was behind the Moon for about an hour from the crew’s viewpoint.
- The lunar flyby observation period ended at approximately 9:35 p.m. ET. As soon as they head home, the crew will begin transferring their images to the NASA team on the ground.
Before completing a record-breaking trip around the moon, the Artemis II crew struggled with words to describe the scene as it entered a total solar eclipse on Monday evening.
Pilot Victor Glover said, “Humans probably haven’t evolved to see what we’re seeing.” “It’s really hard to describe. It’s amazing.”
Commander Reed Wiseman described the scene as “absolutely spectacular” and “unreal”.
He said, “There are no adjectives. I need to invent some new adjectives to describe what we’re seeing outside this window.”
Crew members reported seeing flashes of meteors striking the Moon and seeing details on the Moon’s surface as well as Mars, Venus, and Saturn in the distance.
The historic mission broke the distance record on Monday as the farthest humans have flown from Earth. The capsule is now headed back toward Earth, with a landing planned for Friday.
Following a 40-minute communications blackout, the Artemis II crew is now back in contact with NASA Mission Control after the Orion spacecraft passed behind the moon. “It’s great to hear from Earth again,” said mission specialist Christina Koch.
Before the eclipse, Artemis II’s Orion spacecraft lost its communication with mission control for about 40 minutes, starting at 6:44 p.m. ET, as expected. As it passed behind the Moon.
“It’s great to hear from Earth again,” mission specialist Christina Koch said when the crew received a signal again. “To Asia, Africa and Oceania, we’re looking at you. We heard you can look up now and see the moon. We see you, too.”
Koch talked about future space exploration, including returning to the Moon to conduct further research and build infrastructure.
“But ultimately, we will always choose Earth,” she said. “We will always choose each other.”
The distance record was broken at 1:57 a.m. ET as the crew of four astronauts passed the record of 400,171 kilometers from Earth set by Apollo 13 in April 1970. NASA says Orion reached 406,771 kilometers on Monday.
The Canadian Space Agency says astronaut Jeremy Hansen and his three American companions are now the first space explorers to go further into space than anyone before.
(NASA/Associated Press)
“It boggles my mind what you can see with the naked eye from the Moon right now. It’s absolutely incredible,” Hansen radioed before the flyby. He challenged “this generation and the next generation to ensure that this record does not live long.”
Hansen previously said that he and his team would be looking at the moon so close that it would feel like a basketball held within arm’s reach.
Former Canadian astronaut Steve McLean says that although the mission is a “test”, it is still important.
“It took us a long time to get here,” McLean told CBC News. “It’s been fifty-four years since Apollo. It’s taken generations to come up with a strategy.”
The Orion spacecraft and four astronauts aboard the Artemis II mission made history by traveling farther into space than ever before – breaking the record set by Apollo 13 in 1970 – and also becoming the first crewed mission to the far side of the Moon.
Moments after breaking Apollo 13’s record, the astronauts asked for permission to name two fresh lunar craters they had previously seen. They proposed Integrity, the name of their capsule, and Carol, in honor of Wiseman’s late wife, who died of cancer in 2020. Wiseman cried when Hansen requested Mission Control, and all four astronauts broke down in tears.
“What a magnificent view it is here,” Wiseman said.
The astronauts began their big day with the voice of Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, who recorded a wake-up call just two months before his death last August.
“Welcome to my old neighborhood,” said Lovell, who also flew on Apollo 8, humanity’s first trip to the moon. “It’s a historic day and I know how busy you will be, but don’t forget to enjoy the view.”
The crew took with them the Apollo 8 silk patch that had accompanied Lovell to the Moon, and displayed it as they approached the critical flyby. “It’s a real honor to have him join us,” Wiseman said. “Let’s have a nice day.”
As Orion passed behind the Moon, the spacecraft entered a communications blackout because the Moon’s surface blocks radio signals.
Around 7 p.m., it came as close as 6,545 kilometers to the moon’s surface, and from that vantage point Hansen said the moon would look like a basketball held at arm’s length.
For about seven hours, the crew took turns observing and photographing geological features on the Moon, such as impact craters and ancient lava flows.
Wiseman, Hansen, Koch and Glover are on track to fly past the moon, make a U-turn and then head back to Earth.
It will take four days for them to return, ending their test flight in the Pacific near San Diego on Friday, nine days after the Florida launch.
Wiseman and his crew spent years studying lunar geography in preparation for the big event, adding solar eclipses to their repertoire during the last few weeks. Launching last Wednesday, he ensured a total solar eclipse from his vantage point behind the moon, courtesy of the universe.
“The crew will observe the Moon using real-time data analysis, guidance provided by a team of scientists, and knowledge gained through their geology training in Labrador, Iceland, and providing valuable data to describe surface textures, shapes and colors,” a news release from the Canadian Space Agency said.
The flyby promises distant views of the Moon that were too dark or too difficult to see for the 24 Apollo astronauts who preceded them.
NASA said the Orientale Basin, a 3.8 billion-year-old crater that was formed when a large object struck the moon’s surface, will become fully illuminated and visible as Orion gets closer.
Other sightseeing targets: the Apollo 12 and 14 landing sites from 1969 and 1971, respectively, as well as the edge of the south polar region, a preferred location for future touchdowns.
His moon advisor, NASA geologist Kelsey Young, expects thousands of pictures.
“People all over the world connect with the moon. It’s something that every single person on this planet can understand and connect with,” she said on the eve of the flyby, wearing eclipse earrings.
Moments after Apollo 13 broke the distance record, the Artemis II astronauts asked to name two relatively fresh lunar craters, proposing Integrity – the name of their Orion capsule – and Carroll, in honor of Commander Reed Wiseman’s late wife. When Canadian mission specialist Jeremy Hansen requested mission control, Wiseman cried and all four astronauts embraced.
On Tuesday, Orion will leave the Moon’s sphere of influence and return to Earth.
The Apollo 13 astronauts missed landing on the Moon when one of their oxygen tanks exploded en route.
Trip coined the famous phrase, “Houston, we’ve got a problem.”
Mission control is focused on a free-return lunar trajectory to get them home as fast and efficiently as possible. This route depends on the gravity of the Earth and the Moon and minimal fuel.
The Artemis II astronauts are following the same figure-eight path because they are neither orbiting the moon nor landing on it.
