Artemis II is about to fly past the moon and is set to break records – Nationally
The Artemis II mission is expected to complete its record-breaking flight today.
The Canadian Space Agency says astronaut Jeremy Hansen and his three American crew members are set to become the first space explorers to go further than anyone before, surpassing the record set by Apollo 13 in 1970.
NASA says the estimated distance from Earth during today’s Orion flight will exceed 406,000 kilometers, surpassing the 400,171 kilometers set by Apollo 13.
When Orion passes by the moon, the spacecraft will go into a communications blackout lasting about 40 minutes as the moon’s surface blocks radio signals.
Later, it will come within about 6,500 kilometers of the moon’s surface, and from that point Hansen said the moon will look like a basketball held at arm’s length.
For just over five hours, the crew is expected to take turns observing and photographing geological features on the moon, such as impact craters and ancient lava flows.
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“Crews will perform their observations of the moon with real-time data analysis, guidance provided by a team of scientists and knowledge gained through their geology training in Labrador, Iceland and in the classroom to describe surface textures, shapes, and colors, providing valuable data for future lunar exploration,” reads a news release from the Canadian Space Agency.
The flyby promises views of the far side of the moon that were too dark or difficult to see for the 24 previous Apollo astronauts.
NASA says the Orientale basin, a 3.8-billion-year-old crater formed when a large object hit the moon’s surface, will be fully illuminated and visible as Orion approaches.
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. Mission Control paid for a free monthly return route to get them home as quickly and efficiently as possible. This route depends on the gravity of the Earth and the moon, and on low fuel.
The Artemis II astronauts follow a similar figure-of-eight path as they neither orbit nor land on the moon.
The capsule will aim to break up in the Pacific near San Diego on April 10, nine days after its launch in Florida.
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