Artemis II astronauts become humans to travel furthest from Earth

The team of Artemis II beat the previous record of 400,171 kilometers set by the Apollo 13 mission in the 1970s. It is expected that today this mission will exceed the previous mark by more than 6,600 kilometers, to reach a distance of 406,778 kilometers.

The Orion spacecraft travels around the Moon to carry out a historic flyby, during which they will spend more than six hours analyzing and documenting the characteristics of the lunar surface, before returning.

“It’s a historic day and I know how busy you will be, but don’t forget to enjoy the view,” Jim Lovell, who participated in the Apollo 8 and 13 missions, told the new generation of astronauts in a recording made shortly before his death last year.

“I am proud to pass the torch to them as they orbit the Moon,” he added.

The mission, launched on Wednesday, entered what NASA calls the lunar sphere of influence on Monday around 0442 GMT to carry out the first lunar flyby since 1972.

The observation period of the Earth satellite will last about seven hours starting at 6:45 p.m. GMT.

The US space agency published on Sunday an image taken by the crew showing the Moon and its Eastern Basin.

“This mission marks the first time the entire Basin has been seen by human eyes,” NASA said. It is a huge crater similar to a target that had already been photographed before by cameras in orbit.

Americans Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover are traveling on the Orion spacecraft, along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen.

“Thank you and the entire team on the ground for perpetuating the Apollo legacy with Artemis. Have a good trip and safe return,” wished them the astronaut of the Apollo program, Charles Duke, who is now 90 years old.

The American is one of the last men who ventured to the star, in 1972. Since then, no human being had come close to it.

NASA noted that the crew of Artemis It has completed a test to ensure that manual piloting works and also revised its scientific observation plan to identify and photograph various landforms on the lunar surface.

Astronauts have been trained in geology 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 to the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s. They will be able to observe the entire circular surface of the Moon, including the regions near both poles.

The astronauts of Artemis II have already observed totally new perspectives.

“Last night we had our first view of the far side of the Moon, and it was absolutely spectacular,” Koch said during an interview live from space.

The mission is part of a long-term plan to return sustainably to the Moon, with the aim of establishing a permanent base that will serve as a platform for future explorations.

During the satellite flyby, “we are going to learn enormously about the spacecraft,” NASA director Jared Isaacman stressed on CNN on Sunday.

“It is what interests us most in terms of data,” he added, recalling that the Orion capsule had not transported any human beings until now.

NASA aims for a moon landing in 2028, that is, before the end of Donald Trump’s term.