Today the Artemis 2 capsule with its four astronauts does its transit around the Moon, going further into space than any human have gone into space. They’ll also see parts of the Moon’s backside that have never been seen by the living human eye, though the backside has been amply photographed.
Shortly after midnight this morning, the capsule entered the Moon’s “sphere of influence,” meaning the part of space where the gravity of the Moon exceeds the gravity of Earth. The schedule is below, and I’ve put a video of the live proceedings below.
From the Space.com site:
The Artemis 2 astronauts have arrived in the moon’s sphere of influence, and are now preparing for a very full day of lunar observations.
They crossed the celestial threshold early Monday morning (April 6), becoming the first people to do so since the crew of Apollo 17, in 1972.
The pull of the moon’s gravity on the Artemis 2 Orion capsule officially became stronger than Earth’s influence on the spcecraft at 12:37 a.m. EDT (0437 GMT), as Orion flew 39,000 miles (62,764 kilometers) above the moon and 232,000 miles (373,368 km) from Earth.
Today, they will break the distance record set by Apollo 13, which flew 248,655 miles (400,171 kilometers) from Earth. Artemis 2 reach that, and then some, but between breaking the record and setting their own, they will have hours of lunar observations to conduct as Orion makes its closest approach to the moon.
Here’s a full breakdown of what to expect today (all times in EDT):
There will be about a 40-minute communications blackout (starting at about 6:47 pm) when they go around the Moon. Here’s today’s schedule:
1 p.m.: NASA lunar flyby coverage begins.
1:56 p.m.: Apollo 13 distance record broken
2:10 p.m.: Crew remarks about record
2:15 p.m.: Crew configures Orion for flyby
2:45 p.m.: Lunar observation period begins
6:47 p.m.: Loss of communications (estimated 40-min.)
7:02 p.m.: Closest approach to the moon
7:05 p.m.: Maximum distance from Earth
8:35 p.m.: Orion enters solar eclipse period
9:20 p.m.: Lunar observation period ends
9:32 p.m.: Solar eclipse period concludes
Watching a bit this morning, I see there is a possible cabin leak, which is worrying, but it may have been a false alarm.
If the video is not working, you can see it on the Space.com site: You can also scroll back and see what was going on previously.
h/t: Bat
It’s so awesome
The way it gets through to everyone is a new phenomena – it percolates – I find myself asking if anyone saw what I saw on my own cell phone. I keep screenshots of e.g. the launch as “proof”.
… hasty thought experiment to compare :
If the July 1969 moon landing was accomplished without any sort of TV, radio, or even telegraph, how would anyone know?
In July 1969, most everyone was glued to a TV .. or radio .. I guess…
I appreciate PCC(E)’s regular review/updates on this!
Absolutely awesome. I’ve been watching NASA’s daily updates on YouTube. So far, so good, but going to the moon is dangerous. We need this mission to succeed!
Please add my appreciation for WEIT coverage to Bryan’s! I just want to point out that this flight is an incredibly complex and difficult engineering mission. Nasa and the four astronauts are running something like an aircraft development test flight and the astronauts are the test pilots. While much has been done on Earth to check systems to prepare for this, there is no amount of Earth-based testing that can fully validate the vehicle for flight in the terribly demanding and hostile (to humans) environment of space. Luckily we know quite a bit about the details of the moon’s gravity from the earlier Surveyor and Apollo missions, which gives excellent confidence to the navigation and guidance pieces of this mission. For launch they verified the upgraded Space Shuttle engines and the new extra powerful solid rocket motors…I always hold my breath until they burn out and are jettisoned. Checking out the maneuverability, safety & comfort systems (space toilet!), structural integrity, and re-entry and landing systems are a really big deal on this first crewed flight…these pro’s don’t show it, but finding and implementing solutions to problems can mean life or death.
Michael Collins, an Apollo astronaut who stayed in orbit while his fellow astronauts landed on the moon, described the half hour or so when he was orbiting on the far side of the moon, totally out of communication and sight with any other human being in the world as the loneliest time he had ever known. I trust that Artemis will passthrough its blackout fine tonight and the four have each other for company during it. My biggest and final worry is about something that is one of the last mission tests. The heat shield had unexpected degradation on the Artemis 1 reentry and I am not confident in the testing done to support the “fix” for the current test flight. So just as I held my breath through the solids’ performance, I will give reentry my full attention and wish the crew the best of luck for a safe return and splashdown.
I was wondering about the heat shield too. I think one solution for this actual run was to change the angle of entry or something along that line. Not sure. Confidence has been expressed, and the Artemis I capsule did make it down, but I have been thinking that this should be tested again before we put people on it.
Still, I am in awe at how all this works. How orbital mechanics can be figured to put a craft along a narrow corridor to intercept where the moon will be x days later, and then sling-shot to return and be where earth will be x days later …
My mind is blown.
Me too Mark and I have worked homework sets of these types of trajectories years ago in a classical mechanics class. Every time these guys rendezvous with a comet or do a grand tour of planets and moons based purely on timing of gravity assist I am stunned. I guess I shouldn’t be, but I am.
I worry about reentry. The amazing physics and engineering that has put Artemis II on an automatic trajectory back to earth puts the spacecraft on a collision course with the atmosphere. I’m holding my breath that everything ends up “nominal.”
Yeah, sure you betcha, but the sickening Christer with his disgusting proselitization destroys any enjoyment of this useless trip. Science is no longer in charge; bunch of performative immature jerks. Basta.