The Artemis II mission of NASA reached today the farthest distance from Earth that a human has reached, flying over the non-visible side of the Moon surpassing the 400,171 km that the Apollo 13 mission reached in 1970.
In the evening, the spacecraft may carry out a small course correction, so that it is ensured that it is on the correct trajectory for its return to Earth with splashdown on Friday.
“It is wonderful to hear the Earth again,” said in live connection the astronaut Christina Koch. At that time, below them, turned towards the Moon, were Asia, Africa, Australia and the western Pacific.
The Apollo 13 mission in 1970 did not make a Moon landing although it was among its objectives, and then the phrase “Houston, we have a problem” was said.
A new photo of the Moon that was taken by the Integrity shows full view of the Orientale basin, a dark, ring-shaped crater of width 965 km that extends both on the visible and on the hidden side of the Moon.
During the mission and after the breaking of the distance record, Donald Trump called the crew and, after he posed his questions about the mission, said that he will invite them to the Oval Office “and will ask them for autographs”.
“I cannot believe that it took us so long to return,” said Jared Isaacman, commander of NASA. “But here we are, and we are not going to abandon it again. It is only the beginning of a big journey”.
Source: New York Times
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