Astronauts heading to the moon are in ‘good spirits’
The astronauts who went to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years are more than 160,930 kilometers away from Earth and are in “good spirits,” according to NASA officials.
In an update on the 10-day Artemis II mission, NASA officials said the crew must travel another 241,400 kilometers to reach their destination for a lunar mission that will take them deeper than anyone has ever gone before.
The elite crew of three Americans and one Canadian, who set off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Wednesday evening, cleared earth orbit earlier in the day.
The Orion spacecraft is currently in an orbit that will take it around the moon and then make a “free” return trip using the natural satellite’s gravity.
As the module moves 6,437 km beyond the far side of the moon, the crew’s communication with Earth will be lost for approximately 40 minutes.
The mission is to test technologies needed for long-term lunar exploration and human missions to Mars.
One of the tasks the astronauts performed was to measure how noisy the toilet was after the previous problems were fixed.
Speaking at a news conference, Lakiesha Hawkins, NASA’s deputy administrator for exploration systems development, said the mission continues to perform well and crew morale remains high.
Referring to one of the spectacular images of the world taken from the capsule by mission commander Reid Wiseman, he said it was like a group selfie.
“It’s amazing to think that we are all represented in this picture, except for our four friends,” he said.
“As we mission into deep space for the first time with the crew, we continue to learn everything about our spacecraft, and it’s important to remind ourselves of that as we learn a little more each day.”
Giving details about the crew’s activities, Artemis II climbing flight director Judd Frieling said that they talked to their families.
“They also did another noise characterization of how noisy the restroom was. That’s what we did,” Frieling said.
Although astronauts will not land on the moon, the Artemis II mission paves the way for future lunar landings and also lays the groundwork for sending crews to Mars.
The mission had previously had to be delayed for two months due to hydrogen fuel leaks and helium lines being blocked.
The last time NASA sent astronauts to the moon was as part of the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
China aims to send a crew to the Moon’s surface by 2028, before 2030, the agency said.
