Artemis astronauts more than halfway to Moon, putting Earth in rear view

Houston – The Artemis II astronauts passed the halfway point between Earth and the Moon on April 4 as they sped towards a planned lunar fly-by, with NASA releasing initial images of Earth taken from inside the Orion spacecraft.

Astronaut Christina Koch said the crew had a collective “expression of joy” upon being told of the milestone, which was hit two days, five hours and 24 minutes after the spacecraft blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“We can see the Moon out of the docking hatch right now; it is a beautiful sight,” she said around 11pm on April 3, according to the space agency’s official live broadcast.

NASA’s online dashboard showed early on April 4 that the Orion spacecraft carrying the astronauts was more than 229,000km from Earth.

The space agency earlier released images from Orion that included a full portrait of Earth, featuring its deep blue oceans and billowing clouds.

After a flurry of high-stakes activity, including a dramatic blast-off and an engine firing that catapulted them on their historic trajectory to circle the Moon, the four astronauts aboard were able to catch their breath, even as they continued to perform a variety of equipment checks and tests.

Canadian Jeremy Hansen said during a Q&A session with the press late on April 2: “There has been a tremendous amount of disbelief for me; it’s just so extraordinary.

“I really like it up here. The views are extraordinary,” said Mr Hansen, on his first-ever journey to space.

“It’s really fun to be floating around” in zero gravity, he added. “It just makes me feel like a little kid.”

The astronauts – Mr Hansen, and Americans Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman – are now on a “free-return” trajectory, which uses the Moon’s gravity to slingshot around it before heading back towards Earth without propulsion.

They are due to loop around the Moon early next week – a feat not accomplished in more than 50 years.

NASA official Lakiesha Hawkins praised the photographs taken by Mr Wiseman, the mission commander, calling them “amazing” during a briefing on April 3.

“We continue to learn all about our spacecraft as we operate it in deep space with crew for the first time,” she said.

“It’s important to remind ourselves of that as we learn a little bit more day by day.”

‘Great spirits’

The to-do list on April 3 included a cardiopulmonary resuscitation demonstration and medical kit checks, the US space agency said, as well as preparation for the scientific observations they will need to document when they are closest to the Moon on day six of their journey.

NASA officials reported on April 3 that all systems were performing well, and that the astronauts were in “great spirits” and had spoken to their families.

The next major milestone of the approximately 10-day journey is expected overnight on April 5 into April 6, at which point the astronauts will enter the “lunar sphere of influence” – when the Moon’s gravity will have stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth’s.

If all proceeds smoothly, as Orion whips around the Moon, the astronauts could set a record by venturing farther from Earth than any human before.

“There is nothing normal about this,” said Mr Wiseman late on April 2.

“Sending four humans 250,000 miles (402,000km) away is a Herculean effort, and we are now just realising the gravity of that.”

The Artemis II mission is part of a longer-term plan to repeatedly return to the Moon, with the goal of establishing a permanent lunar base that will offer a platform for further exploration. AFP