Astronauts break Apollo 13 record during lunar flyby
Marcia Dunn
Houston: With the moon now filling their windows, Artemis II astronauts began their flight to the moon, taking in spectacular, never-before-seen views of the far side while setting a new distance record for humanity.
The six-hour flight is the highlight of NASA’s first return to the moon with three Americans and a Canadian since the Apollo era; a step towards landing boot prints near the moon’s south pole in just two years.
First came a reward and bragging rights for Artemis II.
Less than an hour before beginning their fly-around and intense lunar observations, four astronauts surpassed the distance record of 400,171 kilometers set by Apollo 13 in April 1970.
They continued to move further and further away from Earth. Before it was all over, Mission Control expected Artemis II to surpass the old record by more than 6,600 kilometers.
“It blows my mind what you can see from the moon with the naked eye right now. It’s truly incredible,” Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen said via radio before the flight. He challenged “this generation and the next to make sure this record doesn’t last long.”
Immediately after breaking Apollo 13’s record, the astronauts asked for permission to name two new lunar craters that had already been observed. They suggested the name of their capsule, Integrity and Carroll, in honor of the wife of commander Reid Wiseman, who died of cancer in 2020. Wiseman cried and all four astronauts tearfully embraced as Hansen made the request to Mission Control.
“What an amazing view from here,” Wiseman radioed as he regained his composure and began taking photos. The astronauts said they managed to capture the Moon and Earth in the same frame and offered scientists in Houston a running commentary on what they saw.
Astronauts began the fateful day with the voice of Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, who recorded a wake-up call just two months before his death last August. “Welcome to my old neighborhood,” said Lovell, who also flew with Apollo 8, humanity’s first lunar visit. “This is a historic day and I know how busy you will be, but don’t forget to enjoy the view.”
They took with them the Apollo 8 silk patch that accompanied Lovell to the moon and showed it off as the fateful flight approached. “It’s a real honor to have this on board,” Wiseman said. “Let’s go have a great day.”
Artemis II uses the same maneuver Apollo 13 used after its “Houston, we’ve had a problem” oxygen tank explosion destroyed hopes of a moon landing.
Known as free-return lunar orbit, this route, which has no interruption in landing, reduces the need for fuel by taking advantage of the gravity of the Earth and the Moon. It’s a celestial figure eight that will set astronauts on their way home when they emerge from behind the moon on Tuesday morning (AEST).
Wiseman, Hansen, pilot Victor Glover and Christina Koch were on track to approach within 4,000 miles of the moon as their Orion capsule passed the moon and made a U-turn toward Earth. On Friday, the test flights will end with a splashdown in the Pacific and will take four days to return.
Expected speeds at closest approach to the moon: 5052 km/h.
Wiseman and his team have spent years studying lunar geography to prepare for the big event, and in the last few weeks they’ve added solar eclipses to their repertoire. Launched last Wednesday, they ensured a total solar eclipse from a vantage point behind the moon, courtesy of the cosmos.
At the top of the list of science targets, the Orientale Basin is a sprawling impact basin consisting of three concentric rings, the outermost of which is about 950 kilometers wide.
Other trip targets: the Apollo 12 and 14 landing sites in 1969 and 1971, respectively, as well as the fringes of the south polar region, the preferred location for future landings. Further away, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn (not to mention Earth) will be visible.
Lunar mentors NASA geologist Kelsey Young expects thousands of photos.
“People all over the world are connecting with the moon. This is something that every person on this planet can understand and connect with,” she said, wearing her eclipse earrings on the eve of the flight.
Artemis II is NASA’s first astronaut moon launch since Apollo 17 in 1972. It sets the stage for Artemis III next year, where another Orion crew will practice docking with lunar landers in orbit around Earth. The culmination of the lunar landing by two astronauts near the moon’s south pole will occur on Artemis IV in 2028.
Although Artemis II follows the path of Apollo 13, it is most reminiscent of Apollo 8 and humanity’s first lunar visitors, which orbited and read from the moon on Christmas Eve 1968. Book of Creation.
Glover said flying to the moon during Christian Holy Week brought him the “beauty of creation.” The Earth, he observed over the weekend, was an oasis in the middle of “this thing we call the universe,” where humanity coexisted.
“This is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, we’re the same thing, and we have to get through this together,” said Glover, holding hands with his teammates.
