Artemis II has just made history as the first crewed mission to pass by the Moon in over 50 years, since the Apollo era.

🚀 How the journey was planned

The mission was carefully prepared by NASA over the years.

The plan was divided into stages:

1) Launch

The Orion spacecraft was launched by the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on April 1, 2026.

The SLS is currently NASA's most powerful rocket and was designed for deep space missions.

2) Trip to the Moon

After leaving Earth's orbit, the capsule traveled for several days towards the Moon.

During the course, the astronauts did:

• Life support system tests

• Space suit tests

• Course corrections

• Constant communication with Houston

• Scientific observations

3) Pass by the far side of the Moon

The most important moment was the pass by the far side of the Moon.

This side is called so because it is not visible from Earth, and not because it is always dark.

During the pass, the Moon completely blocked the radio signal, causing about 40 minutes of absolute silence with Earth.

This was one of the most important tests of the mission.

🌕 The success of the mission

The mission was a huge success.

The spacecraft perfectly executed the maneuver called free-return trajectory.

This means that the Moon's own gravity 'throws' the spacecraft back to Earth without the need for large fuel consumption.

This type of trajectory is extremely safe and had already been used in the Apollo 13 mission.

📏 What was the greatest distance

Here is the historical record:

🌍 Maximum distance from Earth

252,760 miles

≈ 406,800 kilometers

This made Artemis II the most distant crewed mission in human history.

It surpassed the previous record of Apollo 13.

🌕 Distance from the lunar surface at the closest point

Approximately:

• 4,067 miles

• 6,545 kilometers

🧑‍🚀 The astronauts' speeches

One of the most striking speeches before the blackout on the far side was by astronaut Victor Glover, who sent an emotional message to Earth.

In summary tone, he said something like:

“We are seeing something that no human has seen for over half a century.”

The astronauts also reported great emotion when observing the Earthrise, the Earth rising over the lunar horizon.

🎙️ NASA speech

The NASA flight director, Rick Henfling, reassured the public about the blackout:

“We know exactly where the spacecraft is and where it will be when the signal returns.”

This showed total confidence in the mission planning.