Here’s a look at the first photos shared from the Artemis II mission and what’s next for the astronauts aboard the Orion crew capsule.
NASA’s latest update on the Artemis II moon mission shows a breathtaking view of Earth as the Orion capsule carrying four astronauts orbits tens of thousands of miles above the Earth.
Atop NASA’s powerful Space Launch System rocket and beyond Earth’s atmosphere, the three Americans and one Canadian selected for the mission are preparing to head to the moon. The mission, the second in the space agency’s multibillion-dollar Artemis program, is the first to send humans near the moon in more than 50 years.
What is the main purpose? NASA is aiming to build a permanent lunar base ahead of the first manned mission to Mars, with plans to land on the moon as early as 2028.
In the process, the crew, including NASA astronauts Reed Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover, and Canadian Space Agency Jeremy Hansen, will make history by traveling farther from Earth than any human before. The mission will make Glover the first black man to venture near the moon, Koch the first woman and Hansen the first Canadian.
Here’s a look at the first photos shared from the Artemis II mission and what’s next for the astronauts aboard Orion.
NASA shares first Artemis II image of Earth
NASA shared a view of Earth from the Orion spacecraft, taken while Artemis II astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft orbited the Earth in high Earth orbit.
The image appears to show the bottom of Orion’s service module, which houses the main engines and auxiliary thrusters. The service module is located below the crew module housing the astronauts and is responsible for propelling and maneuvering the spacecraft in space, as well as power generated from the solar array.
Where is Artemis II now?
NASA’s Artemis II mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Wednesday, April 1 at 6:35 pm ET. The agency’s towering 322-foot Space Launch System rocket provided the initial explosive power to propel the Orion spacecraft carrying astronauts.
Following launch, a complex series of steps took place within the first few hours of the mission to prepare the Artemis II crew to begin a 10-day journey around the moon in the Orion capsule.
As of the morning of April 2, astronauts were orbiting Earth at a height of about 46,000 miles, or about 184 times the height of the International Space Station.
NASA prepares Artemis II for the moon
The astronauts were awakened around 7 a.m. ET the morning after launch to watch Orion rise to perigee (an astronomical term for the point at which an object is closest to Earth during a continuous orbit).
Orion ignited its service module engines for 43 seconds to raise its orbit and correct its orbit as it continued to orbit Earth. The spacecraft is currently in stable high-Earth orbit and is scheduled to head to the moon sometime on Thursday, April 2nd.
Once their mission is complete, the astronauts will go back to sleep around 9 a.m. and will wake up within five hours to begin completing their first checklist for a full day in space, NASA said.
Next up, a maneuver known as a menstrual ejection burn, will take astronauts beyond Earth’s orbit on a four-day journey to the moon for the first time since the end of the Apollo era in 1972.
Artemis II flight path
The diagram below from NASA provides a visual representation of what Artemis II’s flight path will look like.
Artemis II Tracker
Want to follow astronauts along Artemis II’s journey to the moon? NASA has an Artemis II tracker available online and in a mobile app that lets users see where Orion is, how fast it’s moving, and how far the spacecraft is from both Earth and the moon.
The mobile version for smartphones also includes an augmented reality feature that allows users to move their phone to see where Orion is in relation to Earth.
When will Artemis II reach the moon?
If all goes as planned, Artemis II will reach the moon and make its historic lunar flight on Monday, April 6th.
Astronauts aboard Orion, which plummets off the far side of the moon, are expected to travel the furthest distance from Earth ever reached by humans, surpassing the record of 248,655 miles set in 1970 during the infamous Apollo 13 mission. Astronauts will fly by the moon 6,000 miles above the surface and get a glimpse of the entire celestial disk, a sight not seen even by the Apollo astronauts.
How long will the Artemis II mission last? When they land on Earth
Once the lunar rendezvous is complete, the astronauts will make a four-day journey to Earth, using Earth’s gravity to naturally pull Orion toward Earth without the need for propulsion or large amounts of fuel.
As Orion breaks through Earth’s atmosphere, its protective heat shield is removed to provide a place for the parachute to deploy and slow the craft.
The capsule will then likely splash down in the Pacific Ocean near California on Friday, April 10, after which five orange airbags will inflate around the top of the spacecraft, flipping the capsule into an upright position. After landing, the crew will leave the vehicle and board the recovery vessel within approximately two hours.
Eric Lagatta is a Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact elagatta@usatodayco.com.
