NASA’s Artemis II crew completed a historic seven-hour lunar flyby on Sunday, becoming the first humans to visit the moon’s vicinity since Apollo 17 in December 1972.
Why it matters: the mission proves that NASA’s Orion capsule and Space Launch System can safely carry humans to the moon and back, clearing the path for Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface.
The flyby
The Orion capsule passed within 4,067 miles of the moon’s surface, capturing images of the lunar far side. The crew set a new record for the farthest distance from Earth travelled by humans at 252,756 miles, surpassing Apollo 13’s mark of 248,655 miles.
Commander Reid Wiseman described the view of the far side as “absolutely breathtaking” during a live broadcast from the spacecraft.
The crew
The four astronauts are NASA’s Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), Christina Koch (mission specialist), and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist). Glover is the first Black astronaut to fly beyond low Earth orbit.
Presidential call
President Trump spoke with the crew on Monday, saying they had “inspired the entire world.” The brief call came amid a day otherwise dominated by the Iran crisis.
Coming home
The Orion capsule completed a deep-space correction burn on Monday and is now on its return trajectory. Splashdown is scheduled for approximately 8:07 p.m. EDT on Friday, 10 April, off the coast of San Diego. Recovery teams aboard the USS John P. Murtha will retrieve the crew.
The mission launched on 1 April from Kennedy Space Centre and is scheduled to last ten days in total.