‘The joy of the month!’ Artemis 2 crew sets distance record, documents far side of moon and returns to Earth

Four astronauts today became the first humans to orbit the moon since the time of Apollo – and added new pages to the history books of the Artemis era.

The Artemis 2 crew reached a distance of 252,756 kilometers from Earth, surpassing the record set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970 by more than 4,000 kilometers.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch marked the event in a radio broadcast from NASA’s Orion space capsule, called Integrity. “Most importantly, we choose this time to challenge this generation and the next to ensure that this record does not last long,” he said.

Koch made history as the first woman to walk beyond Earth orbit. One of his colleagues, NASA pilot Victor Glover, is the first Black astronaut to walk on the moon, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen is the first non-US astronaut to do so.

The primary mission of the 10-day Artemis 2 mission is to serve as the first test flight for the Orion spacecraft crew, which followed a similar course to the moon during the defunct Artemis 1 mission in 2022. A successful mission by Artemis 2 will pave the way for a lunar probe to orbit the Earth early in the next 20 years, Apollo.

Seattle-area technical crews were involved in getting Orion off the ground – and back home. L3Harris’ Aerojet Rocketdyne facility in Redmond worked on the spacecraft’s main engine and some of its thrusters, while Karman Space Systems’ Mukilteo facility provided Orion’s parachute deployment mechanisms and emergency hatch release system.

The Artemis 2 flight program took advantage of the orbital engine and the precisely timed firing of Orion’s main engine to send the astronauts on a free round trip to the moon and back. The moon’s gravity causes Orion to make a critical U-turn around the far side, at a narrow distance of 4,067 miles from the moon’s surface, and shoot back to Earth.

A scientific swing to the moon

Scientists enlisted astronauts to closely examine the lunar surface during the flyby. Because the Artemis astronauts had a wider field of view on the moon than the Apollo astronauts did five decades earlier, they were able to see distant parts that were never seen by the human eye.

NASA mission commander Reid Wiseman found it difficult to break away from moongazing to discuss his observations via radio link with Kelsey Young, Artemis 2’s lunar science lead. “You’re taking me off the moon right now, let’s go,” he told Young.

Back at Mission Control in Houston, Young took it all in stride. “I have to say that ‘joy of the month’ is a new word that has become a new slogan for our group,” he told Wiseman.

Astronauts focused on features of scientific interest – including the Orientale Basin and the Hertzsprung Basin, two multi-ring impact craters that record different geological periods on the far side. They noted subtle shades of green and brown on the moon’s mostly gray surface. They also looked closely at the southern region, which was the target of the first arrival of the Artemis crew.

“The view from the south pole is amazing,” Glover said.

Koch marveled at the small bright craters that stood out on the moon’s surface. “What it really looks like is a light bulb with little pinnacles, and the light is shining,” he said. They are very bright compared to the rest of the moon.

Emotional moments

Hansen told Mission Control that the astronauts were picking up new names for the two craters they saw below. “Integrity” was chosen as the name of one of the holes, in honor of the crewed spaceship. Another hole was named “Carroll,” in honor of Wiseman’s wife, who died in 2020. After Hansen said Carroll’s name, the astronauts came together to give Wiseman a comforting hug.

That wasn’t the flyby’s only emotional moment. Koch said he felt “a strong sense of being moved by looking at the moon” and comparing it to Earth. His description of the feeling was similar to astronauts’ accounts of a phenomenon known as the Panorama Effect.

“Everything we need, the Earth provides,” he said, “and that in itself is something miraculous, and one you can’t really know until you have another’s perspective.”

Just before Orion passed after a month to temporarily shut off the power, Glover took the opportunity to refer to the Christian commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. “As we prepare to go off the radio, we can still hear your love from Earth. And to all of you out there on Earth, and around the world, we love you to the moon,” he said. “We’ll see you on the other side.”

After about 40 minutes, Orion appeared on the other side of the moon, and communication was restored. “It’s great to hear about Earth again,” Koch told Mission Control.

“We will explore, we will build ships, we will revisit, we will build science facilities, we will drive rovers, we will do radio astronomy, we will find companies, we will strengthen the industry, we will inspire,” said Koch. “But in the end, we will always choose Earth.”

Earthset, Earthrise and eclipse

The moon’s reverse rotation gave the crew a chance to capture Earthset and Earthrise images – and marked the start of Orion’s journey home. Back at Mission Control, the support team modified their two-dimensional mission leaflets to change the focus of the patch design from the moon to Earth.

But the day’s work wasn’t over yet: For a grand finale, the astronauts donned goggles and watched as the sun passed behind the moon creating a kind of solar eclipse. As the sun sets below the moon’s horizon, they take pictures of the solar corona.

Glover reported that the corona forms a bright halo “for about a month,” an area of ​​the moon that is gradually illuminated by reflected light from Earth. He said: “It’s a really impressive sight. “Earthshine is very different, and it creates an amazing sight. Wow, it’s amazing.”

The reappearance of the sun after the moon marked the end of today’s seven-hour moon-gazing session. “I can’t say enough about how much science we’ve already learned, and how much you’ve inspired our entire team, the lunar science community and the world with what you’ve been able to deliver today,” Young told the crew. “You really brought the moon closer today, we can’t thank you enough.”

High-resolution images and reports about the sightings should be downloaded and distributed in the coming days. Planetary scientists will be poring over the data long after Orion and its crew make their scheduled splashdown over the Pacific Ocean on Friday.

After the flight, President Donald Trump congratulated the crew via audio link. “Today you have made history and made all of America really proud,” he said. “No astronaut has been to the moon since the days of the Apollo program. … Finally, America is back.”