NASA’s first crewed deep space mission since 1972 has passed the halfway point between Earth and the Moon, captured remarkable images and encountered a few unexpected challenges along the way
The four astronauts aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission are making history in real time. Having passed the halfway point between Earth and the Moon, the crew is now further from home than any humans have traveled since the Apollo program ended in 1972. Here are five things to know about where the mission stands right now.
The crew and where they are
Artemis II lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. Eastern on April 1, carrying NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch alongside Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. As of this morning, the Orion spacecraft was approximately 142,000 miles from Earth and 132,000 miles from the Moon, having crossed the halfway point around two days, five hours and 24 minutes after launch.
The crew is now on a looping path that will take them around the far side of the Moon on April 6 before returning to Earth for a splashdown off the coast of San Diego on April 10. Over the full mission, the crew is expected to travel a total of 695,081 miles.
The first high-resolution images of Earth from deep space
Mission commander Wiseman captured a series of images of Earth from the Orion capsule after the crew completed a trans-lunar injection burn in the early hours of Friday, which set the spacecraft on its trajectory toward the Moon. One photograph, named Hello, World, shows the Atlantic Ocean filling most of the frame, with the western Sahara and the Iberian Peninsula visible on one side, the eastern edge of South America on the other, green auroras glowing at both poles and the planet’s atmosphere creating a luminous halo as Earth eclipses the Sun. Venus is visible in the lower right of the frame.
A second image shows the boundary between day and night, a line astronomers call the terminator, cutting across the surface of the planet. A third image captures Earth in near-complete darkness, with the electric lights of human civilization glowing in the nighttime below. NASA also shared a side-by-side comparison of this year’s photographs with a similar image taken by the Apollo 17 crew in 1972.
A record-breaking moment is coming Monday
On April 6, as the crew makes their closest approach to the Moon, they are expected to surpass the record for the farthest distance any humans have ever traveled from Earth. Apollo 13’s crew holds the current record at 248,655 miles. Artemis II will reach a maximum distance of 252,757 miles from Earth, surpassing that record by approximately 4,102 miles.
The crew’s closest approach to the lunar surface will bring them within 4,066 miles of the Moon. During the flyby, they may also become the first humans to view certain portions of the Moon’s far side with the unaided eye.
The toilet has been a challenge
Not everything on the mission has gone smoothly. The Orion capsule’s waste management system has experienced two separate issues. Shortly after launch, the toilet pump was not functioning correctly, a problem that turned out to have a simple fix once the crew identified that the system needed more water to prime. A second and more persistent issue emerged early today when a blockage developed in the vent line, apparently caused by frozen material in the pipe.
Flight controllers were working to warm the affected line in hopes of clearing it. In the meantime, the crew has been using a backup contingency system that functions similarly to the bagged waste method used by Apollo-era astronauts. Koch described the toilet, when functioning, as arguably the most essential piece of equipment on the spacecraft.
What the crew will do during the lunar flyby
Live coverage of the flyby on April 6 begins at 1 p.m. Eastern. A seven-hour lunar observation period is scheduled to begin at 2:45 p.m. Due to the limited space at Orion’s windows, the crew will rotate in pairs, with two astronauts observing at a time while the other pair exercises or attends to other tasks. Mission control expects to lose communication with the crew as Orion passes behind the Moon at approximately 6:47 p.m.
The spacecraft will make its closest lunar approach at 7:02 p.m., reaching its maximum distance from Earth three minutes later. Communication is expected to resume at approximately 7:27 p.m. Following the flyby, the crew will begin transferring imagery to mission control overnight before splashing down on April 10.
SOURCE: AOL