Artemis II crew (AP)
Nasa’s Artemis 2 astronauts are set to make history Monday, April 6, as they fly around the moon, becoming the first humans in more than 50 years to see it up close.The four-member crew- commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen- are scheduled to begin their seven-hour moon flyby at 1.30 pm EDT (1730 GMT).Live coverage of the event is expected to begin at about 17.00 GMT (18:00 BST; 13.00 EDT).The mission marks a major moment for Nasa and human spaceflight. The Artemis 2 astronauts will be the first humans to visit the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972, and the first astronauts of the 21st century to travel there.As Orion closed in on the moon over the last few days, the crew had already begun taking in striking views of Earth’s closest neighbor.”The four of us have looked at the moon our entire lives, and the way we are responding to what we’re seeing out the window is just like we’re a bunch of kids up here,” Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman radioed to Mission Control late Sunday, as quoted by Space. “We cannot get enough of this. It’s amazing.”The astronauts are expected to see parts of the moon that Apollo crews were never able to view up close, including the poles of the far side.They are also set to witness a rare solar eclipse from beyond the moon.Nasa says the flyby will also support future Artemis missions. Although the astronauts will not land on the lunar surface, they will spend the flyby observing the moon and gathering information that could help later missions.Artemis 2 lunar science lead Kelsey Young said Nasa has planned 10 science objectives and 35 different targets for the crew during the flyby.The astronauts will work in two-person shifts over five hours of the main flyby period. Using a tablet-based Lunar Targeting Plan app, they will record voice observations while taking potentially thousands of photos of lunar craters, plains and mountains.The Orion spacecraft is currently on a looping path that will carry it around the far side of the moon and back again. Nasa says the spacecraft has now entered the moon’s “lunar sphere of influence,” where the moon’s gravitational pull has more effect on Orion than Earth’s.Monday, April 6Tuesday, April 7
