Houston – As the Moon grows ever larger on the horizon, astronauts on the Artemis II mission approached a new distance record from Earth on Monday during a lunar flyby that promises magnificent views of the satellite’s far side never before witnessed with the naked eye.
The six-hour flyby is the highlight of NASA’s first return to the Moon since the Apollo era with three Americans and one Canadian, a step toward a boot-print landing near the Moon’s south pole in just two years.
A prize and bragging rights await Artemis II.
Less than an hour before beginning the flyby and intense lunar observations, the four astronauts were preparing to become the most distant humans in history, surpassing the distance record of 248,655 miles (400,171 kilometers) set by Apollo 13 in April 1970.
Mission Control expected Artemis II to surpass that record by more than 4,100 miles (6,600 kilometers).
Artemis II uses the same maneuver as Apollo 13 after the explosion of its “Houston, we’ve had a problem” oxygen tank ended any hope of a lunar landing.
Known as a lunar free return trajectory, this non-stop route takes advantage of the gravity of the Earth and the Moon, reducing the need for fuel. It is a celestial eight that will put the astronauts on their way home, once they leave behind the Moon on Monday night.
1/18 | From the silence of space: Artemis II reveals stunning images of Earth. This image provided by NASA shows a view of Earth captured by NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman from the window of the Orion spacecraft after completing the translunar injection maneuver. – NASA via AP
Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen were on their way to within 4,070 miles (6,550 kilometers) of the Moon, when their Orion capsule flies over it, turns around and returns to Earth. It will take four days to return, and the test flight will conclude on Friday with a splashdown in the Pacific.
Wiseman and his team have spent years studying lunar geography to prepare for the big event, adding solar eclipses to their repertoire in recent weeks. By taking off last Wednesday, they secured a total solar eclipse from their vantage point behind the Moon, courtesy of the cosmos.
Topping its list of scientific targets: the Orientale basin, an extensive impact basin with three concentric rings, the outermost of which extends nearly 600 miles (950 kilometers).
Other points of interest: the landing sites of Apollo 12 and 14 in 1969 and 1971, respectively, as well as the edges of the south polar region, the preferred location for future landings. Further away, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn, not to mention Earth, will be visible.
Her lunar mentor, NASA geologist Kelsey Young, expects thousands of photos.
“People all over the world connect with the Moon. It’s something that everyone on this planet can understand and connect with,” she declared on the eve of the flyby, sporting eclipse earrings.
Artemis II is NASA’s first lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972. It sets the stage for next year’s Artemis III, in which another Orion crew will practice docking with lunar landers in orbit around Earth. The culminating landing of two astronauts near the Moon’s south pole will take place on Artemis IV in 2028.
While Artemis II may follow the path of Apollo 13, it is more reminiscent of Apollo 8 and humanity’s first lunar visitors, who orbited the Moon on Christmas Eve 1968 and read the Book of Genesis.
Glover said flying to the moon during the Christian Holy Week made him understand “the beauty of creation.” Earth is an oasis in the middle of “a bunch of nothingness, this thing we call the universe” where humanity exists as a unit, he observed over the weekend.
“This is a chance for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same and that we have to get through this together,” Glover said, shaking hands with his crewmates.
This story was translated from English to Spanish with an artificial intelligence tool and was reviewed by an editor before publication.