Artemis II: Reached the Closest Point to the Moon's Surface, Among Nutella, New Craters, and Much More
Last night (Italian time), the Orion Integrity capsule of the Artemis II mission passed close to the Moon's surface. This was one of the most significant moments of the mission with possible scientific outcomes related to the close observation of the natural satellite ahead of future landing missions (starting with Artemis IV in 2028). Here's what happened.
During the flyby, the crew composed of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen reached a maximum distance of 406,771 km from Earth, surpassing the feat of Apollo 13 by 6,616 km. During the same time frame, the Artemis II mission reached its closest point to the lunar surface, which was only 6,545 km away. Clearly, without a planned landing, some Apollo missions have set this record but it had been since Apollo 17 that no one had come so close to the Moon.
Artemis II: News Related to the Close Approach to the Moon
Although not geologists, the astronauts were taught to recognize potentially interesting features of the lunar soil. There were 30 scientific objectives, including the Eastern Basin zone, a crater nearly 1,000 km wide located between the visible and hidden sides of the natural satellite. This crater is believed to be 3.8 billion years old and was formed when the Moon was struck by a large object. The Hertzsprung basin was also considered interesting as its structure has been altered by subsequent impacts, allowing a comparison between the two craters.
A touching moment occurred when Reid Wiseman named a nameless crater in memory of his recently deceased wife (Carroll Taylor Wiseman), which will now be called Carroll Crater. Another small crater was named after the Artemis II mission capsule and is now called Integrity. Both names will need to be approved by the International Astronomical Union, but there shouldn't be any problems in this regard.
Jeremy Hansen (CSA astronaut) stated, "As we surpass the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from planet Earth, we do so to honor the extraordinary efforts and achievements of our predecessors in human space exploration. We will continue our journey even farther into space before Mother Earth is able to bring us back to all that we hold dear. But above all, we choose this moment to challenge this generation and the next to ensure that this record is not long-lasting."
New record🏅 The Artemis II astronauts are now farther from Earth than humans have ever been! At 1:57 p.m. EDT, they broke the record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. Their journey around the far side of the Moon today will take them a maximum distance of 252,752 miles from Earth.
To properly observe the lunar surface during the flyby, the Orion spacecraft was oriented such that the windows pointed toward the Moon. The crew alternated in pairs to observe the craters and collect photos and notes while communicating with the mission control center and the Science Evaluation Room team.
Artemis II, From Solar Eclipse to Nutella
From the perspective of the Orion capsule, it was then possible to see the Earth set behind the lunar surface, resulting in (as anticipated) a loss of communication with the Deep Space Network (DSN) before seeing it re-emerge about 40 minutes later.
A historical moment was the view of a solar eclipse lasting about an hour when the Moon will obscure the Sun (from the capsule's perspective). This event allowed for further study of the solar corona in addition to the lunar surface to look for meteor impacts and thus potential hazards for future landing missions.
During the eclipse, Reid Wiseman stated, "It’s indescribable, no matter how long we watch it, our brains can’t process the image we have before us. It’s absolutely spectacular, surreal, there are no adjectives. I will have to invent new ones to describe what we are looking at right now."
Orion is now exiting the Moon's sphere of influence to return to Earth, thus concluding the Artemis II mission. During the close passage to the lunar surface, one of the most "viral" moments was the live-streaming of a jar of Nutella. According to Bethany Stevens (NASA spokesperson), this was not advertising as the space agency has no agreements of any kind during this mission and NASA played no role in choosing the crew's food. Stevens emphasized the concept by saying, "This was not product placement."
Some users complained about the quality of the images but it should be considered that this was a live broadcast from over 400,000 km from Earth. Part of the bandwidth is then occupied by communication with the crew and the control center and telemetry which are deemed more important. NASA also stated, "Image quality and views may vary during the lunar observation period due to the distance from Earth, system limitations, and the bandwidth of NASA's communication network."
During the approach to the lunar surface, astronauts used a variety of cameras and lenses including two Nikon D5s, a Nikon Z 9, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. It is worth noting that images outside the Orion capsule are captured by modified GoPros located at the ends of the solar panels.