Four astronauts on NASAʼs “Artemis II” mission have entered the moonʼs gravitational sphere, meaning the spacecraft is more strongly influenced by the moonʼs gravity than by Earthʼs.
This is reported by The Guardian.
The astronauts have already explored the lunar surface. The crew reached the gravity field four days, six hours and two minutes after the mission began. The mission is currently 62 800 km from the Moon and 373 400 km from Earth.
When the spacecraft passes behind the moon, it will lose contact with Earth for 40 minutes as the moonʼs surface blocks radio signals. If successful, the spacecraft will orbit the moon, setting a record for the farthest distance from Earth they have ever been.
What to expect on day four of the “Artemis II” mission
At 16:50 Kyiv time (hereinafter Kyiv time) the crew wakes up, and at 20:00 the broadcast begins. At 20:56 “Artemis II” will break the flight range record.
The astronauts will prepare the spacecraft for the lunar flyby at 9:15 PM. The seven-hour observation period for the astronautsʼ flyby will begin at 9:45 PM, and in just two hours, the astronauts will show a view of the spacecraft from the inside.
The astronauts will be closest to the Moon at 02:07 and farthest from Earth at 02:05. Loss of communication for 40 minutes will begin at 01:47.
At 03:35, astronauts will watch the Moon completely block the Sun, an eclipse that will last 53 minutes. The flyby observation period will end at 04:20, when the astronauts will send images of the observations back to Earth.
“Artemis II” mission
On the night of April 2, the American space agency NASA launched a manned mission to the Moon “Artemis II". Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket in the agencyʼs history. The missionʼs goal is to test the rocket and spacecraft systems in preparation for a new lunar landing.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
On April 3, four astronauts on NASAʼs “Artemis II” mission left Earthʼs orbit and began their journey to the Moon. This is the first time humans have left Earthʼs orbit since 1972.
The “Artemis II” mission will last eight days and will conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, where the crew will be met by rescue teams.
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