Historic Space Journey Begins
On Monday, a team of astronauts embarked on what is now the farthest journey into space ever recorded, surpassing the long-standing record set by Apollo 13 over 50 years ago.
As part of the Artemis II mission, the four astronauts crossed the 248,656-mile mark around 1:56 p.m. ET, while soaring past the moon at nearly 2,000 miles per hour.
This new milestone eclipses the record set by Apollo 13, which encountered an explosion onboard but successfully used the moon’s gravity to navigate back to Earth on April 14, 1970, without draining its remaining power.
However, the Artemis II mission is only just getting started.
The astronauts are set to travel further than any humans before, expected to commence their return trip to Earth around 7:07 p.m.
By the end of their journey, they will have reached an estimated distance of about 252,757 miles.
The Orion capsule of Artemis II will then head back to Earth, aiming to return home around 8 p.m. on Friday.
This record-setting moment will happen shortly after the capsule makes its closest approach to the moon, approximately 4,000 miles from its surface.
During this period, there will be a communication blackout lasting about 40 minutes as the moon obstructs signals traveling between Orion and Earth, with contact expected to resume around 7:25 p.m.
In the meantime, the crew will be occupied observing the moon during this significant flight, revealing portions of its far side that remain unseen by human eyes.
The moon’s far side has only been visible to humans since Apollo 8 in 1968, yet much of it was still cloaked in shadow during previous missions.
While earlier missions orbited the moon, they did so with the landing site in sunlight, rendering the far side nearly invisible during their passes.
During this flyby, the Artemis II crew will have an unprecedented view of the moon, as it appears like a basketball at arm’s length from their cabin windows.
The flyby is set to kick off around 2:45 p.m. and will continue until roughly 9:20 p.m., assuming all goes according to plan.
Reaching 252,757 miles is indeed remarkable. To put this in perspective, if Earth were as large as a soccer ball, the moon would be about the size of a tennis ball, positioned 30 feet away.
With this mission, Artemis II could outdo Apollo 13’s record, as both missions utilized similar orbital mechanics to return home, allowing the capsule to harness its momentum without needing extensive thruster activation, aside from minor adjustments.
