The four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft have completed the historic lunar flyby portion of the Artemis II mission.NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen emerged from behind the moon as the Artemis II astronauts pointed their capsule toward Earth Monday night, after beholding views of the lunar far side never before witnessed and setting a new distance record for humanity.During the flyby, a total solar eclipse greeted the three Americans and one Canadian as the moon temporarily blocked the sun from their perspective. Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn nodded at them from the black void. The landing sites of Apollo 12 and 14 also were visible, poignant reminders of NASA’s first age of exploration more than half a century ago. Mission controllers say Orion entered the moon’s sphere of gravitational influence around 12:41 a.m. EDT Monday, beginning a carefully orchestrated sequence of events that highlights the complex gravitational dance between Earth and its natural satellite. A ‘Beautiful Dance’ Between Earth and moonAccording to Artemis II Entry Flight Director Rick Henfling, the spacecraft’s trajectory was designed to intercept the moon before gravity takes over.“All right, I’ll take a swing at the orbital mechanics here,” Henfling said. “The translunar injection burn essentially raised our apogee — the height of our orbit above Earth — to a point where we targeted such that the moon, as it orbits Earth, we kind of intercept the moon.”Once Orion reaches that point, he explained, the spacecraft transitions from Earth’s gravitational influence to the moon’s before eventually falling back toward Earth.“We allow the moon’s gravity to take over,” Henfling said. “Because we’re not entering into lunar orbit, we pass apogee relative to Earth and we start falling back to Earth. Eventually, the Earth’s gravity is going to take over and bring the spacecraft back into the atmosphere.”NASA officials say the process illustrates the delicate balance between two massive gravitational forces guiding the spacecraft’s path. W2lmcmFtZSBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vaGVhcnN0dGVsZXZpc2lvbmRhdGFqb3VybmFsaXNtLmh0dmFwcHMuY29tL21vb24tZGlzdGFuY2UvaW5kZXguaHRtbCIgc2Nyb2xsaW5nPSJ5ZXMiIGZyYW1lYm9yZGVyPSIwIiBzdHlsZT0ibWluLXdpZHRoOiAxMDAlICFpbXBvcnRhbnQ7IGJvcmRlcjogbm9uZTsgaGVpZ2h0OjUwMHB4OyIgXVsvaWZyYW1lXQ==“You know we’re out at some distance, and so when it starts to pull on us, we go into a circular arc around the moon,” said Lori Glaze, deputy associate administrator, NASA Exploration Systems Development. “That kind of slingshots us around, but then it overshoots and comes back. By the time you might go somewhere else, we’re now pulled into Earth’s gravity again.”“It’s the interplay of those two gravity fields that really drive this beautiful dance of the spacecraft,” she added.Observing Ancient Lunar CratersMission control sent the astronauts their final list of science targets early Sunday. The crew will photograph and observe 30 features across the lunar surface during the flyby.Among the most significant targets is the massive Orientale basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide crater located along the boundary between the moon’s near and far sides. Formed roughly 3.8 billion years ago by a large impact, the basin still preserves dramatic rings and geological features created by the collision.Video above: Passengers on flight watch Artemis II launch from FloridaAstronauts studied the crater from multiple angles.Another key target is the Hertzsprung basin, a nearly 400-mile-wide crater on the moon’s far side. Unlike Orientale, Hertzsprung’s structure has been heavily eroded by later impacts, providing scientists with a valuable comparison of how lunar features evolve over billions of years.Breaking a 55-Year-Old RecordDuring the flyby, the Artemis II crew surpassed the distance record set by the astronauts of Apollo 13.Before kicking off the fly-around and intense lunar observations on Monday, Orion surpassed the distance record of 248,655 miles from Earth set by Apollo 13 in April 1970. The astronauts kept going, hurtling ever farther from Earth. Before it was over, Artemis II beat the old record by 4,101 miles.NASA also expects the crew to capture thousands of photographs of the moon and Earth during the flyby.Key Moments of the FlybySeveral milestones are planned throughout Monday’s encounter: 12:41 a.m. – Orion enters the moon’s gravitational sphere of influence. 1:56 p.m. – Artemis II surpasses the farthest-distance record set by Apollo 13. 2:45 p.m. – Lunar observations begin. 6:44 p.m. – Communications blackout begins as Orion passes behind the moon. 7:02 p.m. – Closest approach: about 4,070 miles above the lunar surface. 7:07 p.m. – Maximum distance from Earth reached. 7:25 p.m. – “Earthrise” appears as Orion emerges from behind the moon and communications resume. 8:35–9:32 p.m. – Crew observes a solar eclipse as the moon blocks the Sun. 9:20 p.m. – Lunar observations conclude.The Artemis II crew ducked behind the moon more than halfway through the lunar flyby. During the 40-minute communication blackout, they made their closest approach to the moon — 4,067 miles — and reached their maximum distance of 252,756 miles from Earth. At that point, they were homeward bound, taking four days to get back with a Pacific splashdown concluding their test flight on Friday.The communications blackout, lasting about 40 minutes, occurred when the moon blocked radio signals between Orion and Earth’s Deep Space Network. Similar communication gaps occurred during Apollo missions and the uncrewed Artemis I.Once Orion reemerged from behind the moon, engineers quickly reacquired the signal and resumed communications with the astronauts.Video below: Artemis crew regains contact with mission control following blackoutThe Artemis II mission is the first crewed flight of NASA’s Artemis program and marks a major step toward returning humans to the lunar surface later this decade. Phone call from TrumpThe Artemis II mission is the first crewed flight of NASA’s Artemis program and marks a major step toward returning humans to the lunar surface later this decade.President Donald Trump phoned the astronauts following the flyby, calling them “modern-day pioneers.”“Today you’ve made history and made all America really proud, incredibly proud,” the president said, adding that more lunar traveling is coming and ultimately “the whole big trip to Mars.”The president also said he would be inviting the astronauts to the Oval Office and that he planned to ask for their autographs. _____The Associated Press contributed to this report
The four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft have completed the historic lunar flyby portion of the Artemis II mission.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen emerged from behind the moon as the Artemis II astronauts pointed their capsule toward Earth Monday night, after beholding views of the lunar far side never before witnessed and setting a new distance record for humanity.
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During the flyby, a total solar eclipse greeted the three Americans and one Canadian as the moon temporarily blocked the sun from their perspective. Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn nodded at them from the black void. The landing sites of Apollo 12 and 14 also were visible, poignant reminders of NASA’s first age of exploration more than half a century ago.
Mission controllers say Orion entered the moon’s sphere of gravitational influence around 12:41 a.m. EDT Monday, beginning a carefully orchestrated sequence of events that highlights the complex gravitational dance between Earth and its natural satellite.
A ‘Beautiful Dance’ Between Earth and moon
According to Artemis II Entry Flight Director Rick Henfling, the spacecraft’s trajectory was designed to intercept the moon before gravity takes over.
“All right, I’ll take a swing at the orbital mechanics here,” Henfling said. “The translunar injection burn essentially raised our apogee — the height of our orbit above Earth — to a point where we targeted such that the moon, as it orbits Earth, we kind of intercept the moon.”
Once Orion reaches that point, he explained, the spacecraft transitions from Earth’s gravitational influence to the moon’s before eventually falling back toward Earth.
“We allow the moon’s gravity to take over,” Henfling said. “Because we’re not entering into lunar orbit, we pass apogee relative to Earth and we start falling back to Earth. Eventually, the Earth’s gravity is going to take over and bring the spacecraft back into the atmosphere.”
NASA officials say the process illustrates the delicate balance between two massive gravitational forces guiding the spacecraft’s path.
“You know we’re out at some distance, and so when it starts to pull on us, we go into a circular arc around the moon,” said Lori Glaze, deputy associate administrator, NASA Exploration Systems Development. “That kind of slingshots us around, but then it overshoots and comes back. By the time you might go somewhere else, we’re now pulled into Earth’s gravity again.”
“It’s the interplay of those two gravity fields that really drive this beautiful dance of the spacecraft,” she added.
Observing Ancient Lunar Craters
Mission control sent the astronauts their final list of science targets early Sunday. The crew will photograph and observe 30 features across the lunar surface during the flyby.
Among the most significant targets is the massive Orientale basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide crater located along the boundary between the moon’s near and far sides. Formed roughly 3.8 billion years ago by a large impact, the basin still preserves dramatic rings and geological features created by the collision.
Video above: Passengers on flight watch Artemis II launch from Florida
Astronauts studied the crater from multiple angles.
Another key target is the Hertzsprung basin, a nearly 400-mile-wide crater on the moon’s far side. Unlike Orientale, Hertzsprung’s structure has been heavily eroded by later impacts, providing scientists with a valuable comparison of how lunar features evolve over billions of years.
Breaking a 55-Year-Old Record
During the flyby, the Artemis II crew surpassed the distance record set by the astronauts of Apollo 13.
Before kicking off the fly-around and intense lunar observations on Monday, Orion surpassed the distance record of 248,655 miles from Earth set by Apollo 13 in April 1970.
The astronauts kept going, hurtling ever farther from Earth. Before it was over, Artemis II beat the old record by 4,101 miles.
NASA also expects the crew to capture thousands of photographs of the moon and Earth during the flyby.
Key Moments of the Flyby
Several milestones are planned throughout Monday’s encounter:
- 12:41 a.m. – Orion enters the moon’s gravitational sphere of influence.
- 1:56 p.m. – Artemis II surpasses the farthest-distance record set by Apollo 13.
- 2:45 p.m. – Lunar observations begin.
- 6:44 p.m. – Communications blackout begins as Orion passes behind the moon.
- 7:02 p.m. – Closest approach: about 4,070 miles above the lunar surface.
- 7:07 p.m. – Maximum distance from Earth reached.
- 7:25 p.m. – “Earthrise” appears as Orion emerges from behind the moon and communications resume.
- 8:35–9:32 p.m. – Crew observes a solar eclipse as the moon blocks the Sun.
- 9:20 p.m. – Lunar observations conclude.
The Artemis II crew ducked behind the moon more than halfway through the lunar flyby. During the 40-minute communication blackout, they made their closest approach to the moon — 4,067 miles — and reached their maximum distance of 252,756 miles from Earth. At that point, they were homeward bound, taking four days to get back with a Pacific splashdown concluding their test flight on Friday.
The communications blackout, lasting about 40 minutes, occurred when the moon blocked radio signals between Orion and Earth’s Deep Space Network. Similar communication gaps occurred during Apollo missions and the uncrewed Artemis I.
Once Orion reemerged from behind the moon, engineers quickly reacquired the signal and resumed communications with the astronauts.
Video below: Artemis crew regains contact with mission control following blackout
The Artemis II mission is the first crewed flight of NASA’s Artemis program and marks a major step toward returning humans to the lunar surface later this decade.
Phone call from Trump
The Artemis II mission is the first crewed flight of NASA’s Artemis program and marks a major step toward returning humans to the lunar surface later this decade.
President Donald Trump phoned the astronauts following the flyby, calling them “modern-day pioneers.”
“Today you’ve made history and made all America really proud, incredibly proud,” the president said, adding that more lunar traveling is coming and ultimately “the whole big trip to Mars.”
The president also said he would be inviting the astronauts to the Oval Office and that he planned to ask for their autographs.
_____
The Associated Press contributed to this report
