Astronauts begin historic Artemis II mission to orbit the moon.
Photo Credit: NASA
For the first time in more than 50 years, NASA has given the four Artemis II astronauts (three Americans and a Canadian) the go-ahead to begin their journey to the moon after having spent 25 hours in Earth’s orbit. NASA flight director Jeff Radigan told the astronauts the mission management team had approved firing up the engine of their capsule to send the spacecraft on its journey towards the moon. The astronauts on the crew aim to become the first people to orbit the moon in more than five decades.
The historic liftoff that sent humans the furthest distance ever travelled in space
The Orion, the spacecraft the astronauts are on, successfully completed its historic liftoff on Wednesday, April 1 from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Tens of thousands of people gathered to watch the historic event.
Since then, the four brave astronauts – Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen – have remained stable in Earth’s orbit. After about three and a half hours of post-launch rest for the explorers, mission control instructed the astronauts to prepare to fire the Orion’s engines for a one-minute “burn,” in order to adjust the orbital path even higher above Earth.
The astronauts were in a stable orbit until 1am BST, or 2am CEST on Friday, April 3, when the second scheduled burn, lasting 5 minutes and 49 seconds, sent the astronauts deeper into space and rocketing towards the moon.
Using the moon’s gravity to propel the astronauts back home
These astronauts are on what is called the “free-return” trajectory, which uses the moon’s gravity to slingshot around it before heading back towards Earth, without needing to use propulsion from the Orion. During the mission, the crew will loop around the back of the moon, becoming the four people to travel the furthest from Earth in history.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am so, so excited to be able to tell you that for the first time since 1972 during Apollo 17, human beings have left Earth orbit,” said Dr Lori Glaze, deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.
“From this point forward, the laws of orbital mechanics are going to carry our crew to the Moon, around the far side and back to Earth.”
Breaking records on the Orion
The voyage to the moon is estimated to take three days. According to NASA, flight controllers are closely monitoring the engine performance, guidance and navigation data throughout the Artemis II mission, in order to ensure the Orion “remains precisely aligned for the outbound journey.”
Artemis II is expected to break the record for distance travelled away from Earth, currently 400,171 kilometres, which was set in 1970 by the Apollo 13 crew. The Artemis II mission will go much higher, at an altitude of between 6,500 to 9,600 kilometres above the moon.
Minor problems detected on the mission so far
Though it has been a successful launch and voyage so far, the Artemis II mission has not been without its hiccups. NASA has reported a temporary communication problem. Additionally, the astronauts reported that the cabin was a little cold, and there was a blinking fault light with the onboard toilet that the crew noticed shortly after launch.
In the unlikely case of a major emergency, including a cabin depressurisation or leak, the astronauts are wearing suits that also serve as “survival systems,” which are designed to maintain oxygen, temperature controls and the correct pressure for up to six days.
Despite the chilly cabin and minor obstacles, the crew are excited and said they were “glued to the window” as they left Earth behind, saying the view was “phenomenal.”
NASA plans to put humans on the moon by decade’s end
The entire mission is scheduled to take place over 10 days. It is a demonstration of NASA’s goal to land humans back on the moon sometime this decade (2028), as well as establish a permanent base on the lunar surface that can sustain humans for an extended period of time, as well as offer a platform for further space exploration and discovery.
The Artemis II mission is also part of NASA’s plan to compete with China, which aims to land humans on the moon by 2030.
