The astronauts of the Artemis II mission are making history by venturing farther into space than any human before and catching live glimpses of parts of the Moon never before seen directly. The mission began the final phase of its approach to the Moon on Monday, reaching the tipping point where the Moon’s gravity exerts a stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth’s gravity.
The Orion spacecraft will loop around the Moon, allowing the crew to reach an estimated record distance of 406,772 kilometers from Earth before beginning the journey home. In doing so, it will surpass by 4,102 miles (6,601 kilometers) the distance record set in 1972 by Apollo 13.
“It is a historic day, and I know how busy you will be, but don’t forget to enjoy the view,” said Jim Lovell, who took part in the Apollo 8 and 13 missions, in a recording made shortly before his death last year. “I am proud to pass the torch to you as you orbit the Moon,” he added.
The mission, which began on Wednesday, entered what NASA calls the Moon’s sphere of influence on Monday at around 04:42 GMT and will soon carry out the first lunar flyby since 1972. At this stage, the mission is about 63,000 kilometers from the Moon and about 374,000 kilometers from Earth, a NASA official said during the live broadcast of the event.
The U.S. space agency released an image on Sunday taken by the crew showing the Moon and its Orientale Basin. “This mission marks the first time the entire Basin has been seen by human eyes,” NASA said. It is a huge bullseye-like crater that had previously been photographed by orbiting cameras.
Traveling aboard Orion are Americans Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover, along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen. “Thank you and the entire ground team for carrying forward Apollo’s legacy with Artemis. Safe travels and safe return,” wished Apollo astronaut Charles Duke, now 90 years old.
The American is one of the last men to have ventured to the Moon, in 1972. Since then, no human had come so close to it.
Flight plans revised
NASA said the Artemis crew has completed a test to make sure manual piloting works and has also reviewed its scientific observation plan to identify and photograph various geographic features on the lunar surface. The astronauts have received geology training so they can photograph and describe lunar features, including ancient lava flows and impact craters.
They will see the Moon from a unique vantage point compared with the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s. The Artemis II crew will be able to see the Moon’s full circular surface, including regions near both poles.
Never before seen
The Artemis II astronauts have already observed entirely new perspectives. “Last night we had our first view of the far side of the Moon, and it was absolutely spectacular,” Koch said during a live interview from space. The mission is part of a long-term plan to return sustainably to the Moon, with the goal of establishing a permanent base that would serve as a platform for future exploration.
During the lunar flyby, “we are going to learn a tremendous amount about the spacecraft,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman emphasized Sunday on CNN. “That is what interests us most in terms of data,” he added, noting that the Orion capsule had not until now carried any human beings.
NASA is aiming for a Moon landing in 2028, before the end of Donald Trump’s term.
