Start. At 6:35 On April 2 at 8 p.m. Eastern time, the Space Launch System rocket lifted the Orion capsule from Earth. Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen were on board. On Thursday, they became the first humans to go beyond low Earth orbit since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
The crew will test technological systems that will be useful in subsequent missions, including: consisting in radiation shielding or communication of the capsule with the Earth at lunar distances. One of the most fascinating aspects is also the trajectory that Artemis II will follow during its mission.
Space is a place
Contrary to what intuition may suggest, a journey to the Moon is not a direct, linear path connecting the surface of the Earth with the surface of the Moon.
After launch, the SLS first stage separated from the rest of the spacecraft – the Cryogenic Interim Propulsion Upper Stage (ICPS) and the Orion capsule. ICPS lifted the capsule into high Earth orbit, but the crew remained in Earth orbit for approximately 23 hours. After all checks and verification that everything was in order, ICPS separated from Orion. This was when the journey to the Moon really began.
Courtesy of NASA
Moon Viaduct
The halfway point will take place on the evening of April 6. Artemis II astronauts will fly approximately 10,300 kilometers beyond the Moon, breaking all previous distance records from Earth. The current record holder is the Apollo 13 mission, which reached a distance of approximately 400 kilometers from the Moon.
Artemis II’s closest approach to the lunar surface will be 7,400 kilometers and will be achieved during a flyby of the far side. The spacecraft will not enter orbit around the Moon, but will fly past it and exploit a gravitational slingshot to return to Earth. The result is a figure-eight trajectory between the two celestial bodies. The orbit is optimized to ensure return to Earth even in the event of engine failure.
Re-entry to Earth
The return to orbit will follow a passive trajectory: after passing the Moon, Orion will essentially fall towards Earth without the need to exploit its engines. In the event of problems with the drive or other systems, the capsule will return safely to Earth.
Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Re-entry will take place via splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 11, 9 days and 13 hours after the mission began. There, the astronauts would be found by the U.S. Navy and their journey home would end.
This story originally appeared on WIRED Italy and was translated from Italian.