Deep Space Distance: Artemis II Astronauts Set New Human Travel Record
Four astronauts participating in NASA’s Artemis II lunar mission have set a new record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth. When the astronauts moved to the far side of the Moon in the ‘Orion’ capsule, their communication with Earth was cut off for nearly 40 minutes. After completing that segment, communication was re-established with the control room in Houston, Texas, United States.
At 3:58 PM Greenwich Mean Time on Monday, when the four Artemis II astronauts reached the farthest point behind the Moon, their distance from Earth was approximately 406,788 kilometers, or about 252,760 miles. No human had ever traveled this far from Earth before, marking a new record for the Artemis II mission.
The previous record dates back nearly 56 years. According to Al Jazeera, astronauts on NASA’s Apollo 13 mission in April 1970 had traveled the farthest distance from Earth at that time. They reached approximately 400,171 kilometers, or about 248,655 miles from Earth.
On 1 April, four astronauts began this historic journey aboard the ‘Orion’ capsule, launching from the Kennedy Space Center under the Artemis II mission. The last time astronauts traveled to the Moon was in 1972. Since the Apollo 17 mission, this marks the first time humans have set out toward the Moon again.
The four astronauts are NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.
After re-establishing communication with NASA’s control room upon returning from the far side of the Moon, Christina Koch said, “It’s really joyful to hear voices from Earth again.”
The astronauts also observed a total solar eclipse during the mission. Victor Glover, pilot of the Orion spacecraft on Artemis II, said, “It felt like we had entered the world of science fiction. It was truly surreal.”
The Artemis II astronauts have expressed hope that this new record will be surpassed by humans in the future.
The astronauts on the Artemis II mission will not land on the Moon. During the 10-day mission, they will orbit the Moon and then return to Earth. This marks the first time since 1972 that humans have traveled beyond Earth’s orbit.
The primary objective of this crewed test mission is to initiate regular human travel to the Moon. NASA has set a target to land astronauts again on the Moon’s remote south pole by 2028.
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