Artemis II consisted of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch from NASA, as well as Jermey Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency – becoming the first astronauts to have left Earth’s orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
According to NASA, “(NASA’s) Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft took off from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1st.”
On April 6, Artemis II astronauts had a planned 40-minute communication blackout as they went behind the moon. They set a record for the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth – making it about 248,655 miles away.
According to Wired, as the astronauts passed by the far side of the moon, they witnessed small meteorites impacting the ground and producing flashes of light. However, the cameras they were using were unable to record the meteorites quick enough.
The astronauts described the craters on the moon as being small and very bright; later gaining permission to name two of the craters: “Integrity” after their spacecraft, and the other “Carroll” in honor of Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll Wiseman.
The astronauts described the moon as being colorful, challenging the dark moon most imagine. According to Kare, they saw green and brownish hues as they flew by.
On the journey back to Earth, the spacecraft was moving at quick speeds, reaching a peak of 24,000 miles per hour. After a ten-day journey in space, on April 10th, at 8:07 pm, the astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of San Diego, California.
According to Time, the spacecraft made it into the ocean safely, settling atop the waves at 17 miles per hour under the control of three parachutes. The U.S. military team assisted the astronauts out of the spacecraft.
Although the astronauts didn’t land on the moon, this was a very important mission to aid in returning humans to the moon’s surface in 2028.
According to NPR, “We most importantly choose this moment to challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived.”
