Emerging from behind the moon, the Artemis II astronauts pointed their capsule toward home Monday night after beholding views of the lunar far side never before witnessed and setting a new distance record for humanity.
The seven-hour flyby was the highlight of NASA’s first return to the moon since the Apollo era with three Americans and one Canadian — a step toward landing boot prints near the moon’s south pole in just two years.
Other WRAL Top Stories
First came a prize — and bragging rights — for Artemis II.
At 1:56 p.m. Eastern time on Monday, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen were 248,655 miles from Earth, surpassing the record that had been set by Apollo 13 in 1970. By the end of Monday, they will travel even farther, reaching a distance of 252,760 miles.
“It is blowing my mind what you can see with the naked eye from the moon right now. It is just unbelievable,” Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen radioed ahead of the flyby. He challenged “this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived.”
“Such a majestic view out here,” Wiseman radioed once he regained his composure and started picture-taking. The astronauts called down that they managed to capture the moon and Earth in the same shot, and provided a running commentary to scientists back in Houston on what they were seeing.
“It is blowing my mind what you can see with the naked eye from the moon right now. It is just unbelievable,” Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen radioed ahead of the flyby. He challenged "this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived.”
During this mission, the four astronauts have launched to space, tested life support and other important systems of their Orion spacecraft, tangled with the vehicle’s toilet, puzzled over personal computing devices and left low-Earth orbit. They are the first humans to do so since 1972, although they will not land on the moon.
Known as a free-return lunar trajectory, this no-stopping-to-land route takes advantage of Earth and the moon’s gravity, reducing the need for fuel. It’s a celestial figure-eight that will put the astronauts on course for home, once they emerge from behind the moon Monday evening.
The crew spent hours Monday putting their geology training to use, observing portions of the lunar surface never before seen by human eyes.
Their moon mentor, NASA geologist Kelsey Young, expects thousands of pictures.
“People all over the world connect with the moon. This is something that every single person on this planet can understand and connect with,” she said on the eve of the flyby, wearing eclipse earrings.
NASA continues live streaming the mission through Monday evening, with a live conversation with the astronauts planned for 10:50 p.m.
Here's the full schedule for Monday:
- 1:30 p.m.: The science officer in NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston and the astronauts will go over the objectives and timeline for the flyby. This is needed to finalize plans, because the Sun’s angle on the lunar surface shifts by about a degree every two hours, making knowing the exact lighting conditions dependent on when the mission launched within the two-hour window.
- 1:56 p.m.: The crew is expected to surpass the record previously set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970 for the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth by over 4,100 miles.
- 2:45 p.m.- 9:35 p.m.: The seven-hour lunar observation period begins. Crew will see both the near and far sides of the Moon. Because room at the spacecraft’s windows is limited, the crew will take turns. Two crew members will observe for 55 to 85 minutes, while the others exercise or complete other tasks.
- 6:41 p.m. - 7:21 p.m.: Mission control expects to temporarily lose communication with the crew as the Orion spacecraft passes behind the Moon.
- 7:00 p.m.: Astronauts will make their closest approach to the Moon. At this distance, the Moon will appear to the astronauts about the size of a basketball held at arm’s length.
- 8:36 p.m.: The crew will see a solar eclipse as the Sun moves behind the Moon from their view from the Orion capsule.
Observations will wrap at 9:35 p.m. as the crew begins transferring some of their imagery to the ground. The NASA science team will review the images and observations overnight then discuss with the crew the following day while the experience is still fresh.
You can also follow along online with NASA's Artemis Rea-time Orbit Website (AROW). It may appear at first that the Orion spacecraft is going to miss the Moon, but the trajectory was designed to meet up with the Moon as it continues its orbit around the Earth.
Hockey great Wayne Gretzky put it best:
"I skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been."
The Associated Press and New York Times contributed to this report.
