Artemis II Begins Return After Setting Record for Longest Human Journey From Earth
During the lunar flyby, the four astronauts aboard the spacecraft managed to set a record for the farthest distance traveled from Earth when they reached a distance of four hundred and six thousand seven hundred and seventy-one (406,771) kilometers from the planet.NASAThe Orion crew saw sights during their journey that no human had ever seen.
Astronauts from NASA’s Artemis II mission are now returning to Earth after completing their historic journey to the moon and witnessing a total solar eclipse.
The astronauts’ journey back to Earth will take four days and they will land in the Pacific Ocean off the country’s west coast at 8:07 p.m. Friday, US Eastern Standard Time.
During this mission, a new record was also set for the farthest distance traveled by a human from Earth.
During a flyby of the far side of the moon on Tuesday, the four astronauts aboard the spacecraft managed to set a record for the farthest distance traveled from Earth when they reached a distance of four hundred and six thousand seven hundred and seventy-one (406,771) kilometers from the planet.
Previously, the record for the furthest journey from Earth was held by the Apollo 13 crew, who reached 4171 kilometers in 1970.Nasa/Reid WisemanNew image of Earth taken by Artemis II
The record distance from Earth, light levels and unique orbit mean that the Orion crew has seen scenes that no human has ever seen.
Mission commander Reid Wiseman said the Orion crew saw “scenes no human has ever seen before” on the journey, while pilot Victor Glover said there were “no adjectives” to describe what they saw.
Both China and India have sent space missions to take pictures of the far side of the moon in the past few years, so is it interesting for humans to see it for themselves from a scientific perspective or just for human research? Chris Lintot, professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford, says, “The value of the images taken by Artemis and its crew is more artistic than scientific.”
During the journey, the astronauts maintained constant contact with Mission Control in Houston, Texas, USA, and the reassuring words of NASA officials were like a reassuring link from home for the spacecraft crew.
But the connection was lost for about 40 minutes when the astronauts passed behind the moon at around 4:00 am on Tuesday morning, Pakistan time, and the radio and laser signals that were used to communicate between the spacecraft and Earth were cut off due to the moon coming in between.
When the connection was reestablished after 40 minutes of silence, Christina Koch, a mission specialist on Orion, said, “It was great to hear (the sound) from Earth again.”
Hopefully, this communication breakdown can soon become a thing of the past.
Matt Cosby, chief technology officer at the Gone Hill Earth Station in Cornwall, southwest England, told the BBC that this will become necessary as NASA and other space agencies around the world begin building bases on the moon and ramp up exploration programs.
“To have a sustainable presence on the moon, you need constant communication. You need 24 hours a day, even if you’re on the far side because that area will need to be explored as well.”
Programs like the European Space Agency’s Moonlight are planning to build a network of satellites around the Moon to provide continuous and reliable communications coverage in the future.
