Artemis II crew completes record-breaking trip around the moon and sees “unreal” solar eclipse
- Artemis II astronauts made history Monday as they took a trip around the moon and reached a maximum distance from Earth of 252,756 miles, surpassing the record set by Apollo 13 in 1970 by over 4,000 miles. The Orion spacecraft’s four-person crew has traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history.
- The astronauts also became the first humans to see some parts of the far side of the moon with the naked eye. The spacecraft’s closest approach to the moon was 4,067 miles.
- The crew briefly lost contact for about 40 minutes during a planned loss of signal when they flew around the moon’s far side, regaining contact with Mission Control at 7:24 p.m. ET. The crew was later able to observe a solar eclipse, which astronaut Victor Glover said “just looks unreal.”
- President Trump spoke live with the crew late Monday night and congratulated them, calling them “modern-day pioneers” and saying they’d “inspired the entire world.”
- After completing its lunar flyby, the Artemis II began its trip back to Earth. It’s expected to splash down off the California coast near San Diego just after 8 p.m. EDT Friday.
Wiseman says they’re excited to “become a 2-planet species”
Speaking with President Trump, commander Reid Wiseman listed the incredible sights the Artemis II crew witnessed on Monday, telling the president that when the astronauts could see Mars, “All of us commented how excited we are to watch this nation and this planet become a two-planet species,” referring to NASA plans to eventually go to Mars.
Christina Koch told Mr. Trump that one of the highlights of the trip so far was coming around the far side of the moon and “having the first glimpses of Earth again after being out of communication for about 45 minutes.”
“It really just reminds you what a special place we have and how important it is for our nation to lead and not follow in exploring deep space,” she said.
Victor Glover told Mr. Trump that when the crew went behind the moon and lost communication, he “said a quick prayer,” but then got right back to work. He then joked that it was actually “quite nice” not to be able to communicate with Earth.
Mr. Trump told Jeremy Hansen, the Canadian astronaut, that he had spoken with hockey icon Wayne Gretzky and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, “and they are so proud of you.”
