‘Not the moon that I'm used to seeing': Artemis II astronauts describe seeing the far side
HOUSTON — The Artemis II astronauts are now more than halfway to the moon and have caught their first glimpses of the lunar far side.
In an interview with NBC News from space, NASA astronaut Christina Koch described seeing the moon out the window of the Orion capsule and realizing that it looked different from what she was accustomed to on Earth.
“The darker parts just aren’t quite in the right place,” she said. “And something about you senses that is not the moon that I’m used to seeing.”
Koch said that she and her crewmates, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, compared their views to their study materials to understand what they were seeing.
“That is the dark side. That is something we have never seen before,” Koch said.
Wiseman, Koch, Glover and Hansen launched Wednesday on a 10-day trip around the moon, becoming the first people to embark on a lunar mission in more than 50 years. The astronauts were also the first humans to lift off aboard NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule. They have been officially moon-bound since Thursday evening, when the spacecraft conducted a key engine burn that boosted the capsule out of Earth’s orbit.
Wiseman called the flight a “magnificent accomplishment” and said the astronauts’ ability to gaze at both Earth and the moon from their spacecraft has been “truly awe-inspiring.”
“The Earth is almost in full eclipse. The moon is almost in full daylight, and the only way you could get that view is to be halfway between the two entities,” he said.
Koch added that while the astronauts are excited, they have been able to rest and sleep comfortably in their 16.5-foot-wide Orion capsule, which has a habitable volume roughly equivalent to a camper van.
Sleep is one of various human concerns that inherently occupy their days while journeying through the cosmos.
“Being human up here is one of the coolest things about this mission,” Koch said. “We are just people trying to get by. For example, we might go look at the far side of the moon and take in its awesomeness, and then go, ‘Hm, maybe I should change my socks,’ and try to dig around for a pair of socks. So this is the dichotomy of human spaceflight.”
The four astronauts had time Friday and Saturday to talk to their family members, which Wiseman said was a major highlight.
“It was surreal,” he said. “For a moment, I was reunited with my little family. It was just the greatest moment of my entire life.”
Since reaching space, the Artemis II crew has been busy. In the first hours after they lifted off, they began to test the various life-support systems aboard the Orion capsule. The astronauts had to troubleshoot several issues, including email glitches and problems with their onboard space toilet, but have said the flight has been smooth overall.
At 12:41 a.m. ET Monday, the astronauts are expected to enter the lunar sphere of influence, meaning the pull of the moon’s gravity will become stronger than Earth’s.
The mission’s long-awaited lunar flyby will occur later that day, during which the Artemis II astronauts will view never-before-seen parts of the moon’s surface. These areas on the far side are not visible from Earth because that part of the moon always faces away from our planet. Even the Apollo astronauts couldn’t view much of the moon’s far side due to the paths and timing of their flights.
The official lunar flyby period for Artemis II lasts six hours and begins at 2:45 p.m. ET.
As the Orion capsule swings around the moon, Wiseman, Koch, Glover and Hansen are set to travel farther from Earth than any humans have before. They’re expected to reach their maximum distance from Earth — 252,757 miles — at 7:05 p.m. ET. That will break the Apollo 13 distance record by around 4,100 miles.
They should surpass the Apollo 13 distance of 248,655 miles at 1:56 p.m. ET.
Over the course of the day, the astronauts should come as close as 4,600 miles to the lunar surface. From their vantage point, the moon will look about the size of a basketball held at arms’ length. The crew is tasked with making close observations of its features and taking photographs. Their images of craters, ridges and ancient lava flows on the lunar surface could help scientists better understand how the moon — and the solar system — formed.
Toward the end of the lunar observation period, the crew will have the opportunity to experience a solar eclipse from space. The sun will move behind the moon at 8:35 p.m. ET, blocking its light from the perspective of the Orion capsule. The eclipse will last almost an hour.
During that time, the moon will appear mostly dark, which will give the astronauts a chance to observe the sun’s corona and look for flashes of light from rocky objects smacking into the moon.
After their flyby, the astronauts will spend the next three days journeying home. They are expected to return to Earth on Friday, with the mission culminating in a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of San Diego, just after 8 p.m. ET.
Hansen said the flight so far has been emotional, full of joy, happiness and disbelief.
“Right away, you are humbled,” he said. “The fact that four of us get to be out here just brings you to your knees.”
And while the early photos of Earth and the moon that Hansen and his colleagues have beamed back have been spectacular, the Canadian astronaut said they pale in comparison to the real deal outside their capsule’s windows.
“I know those photos are amazing,” he said, “but let me assure you, it is another level of amazing up here.”
Tom Costello spoke to the Artemis II crew from Houston. Denise Chow reported from New York City.
