Post Content The flyby will mark a critical period during the entire 10-day mission since the space shuttle will enable astronauts to have an up-close look at the moon’s surface.(Image: Nasa)
Nasa’s Artemis II mission entered its fifth day in space on Monday, with astronauts now preparing for a closely watched flyby of the Moon.
On Saturday, the Orion space capsule and crew made it three-quarters of the way to the Moon from Earth. The crew of the Artemis II mission took off last Wednesday on a rocket measuring 332 feet tall from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which marks the first time humans have flown towards the Moon in over five decades.
The team includes Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Jeremy Hansen and Christina Koch. The crew represents several historic firsts. Glover is the first Black astronaut assigned to a lunar mission, Hansen is the first Canadian to make the journey, and Koch is the first woman on a mission to the Moon.
Nasa confirmed that Orion will be in proximity to the moon around 2.30 pm Eastern time on Monday. The flyby will mark a critical period during the entire 10-day mission since the space shuttle will enable astronauts to have an up-close look at the moon’s surface.
For those tracking the journey from Earth, Nasa has been providing continuous coverage since liftoff, which took place at 6.35 pm Eastern Time ( 3:54 IST) on Wednesday.
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The live streams are broadcast via the official Nasa platforms, which include the Nasa website, the Nasa YouTube channel, and social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter.
The Nasa team has prepared an elaborate schedule for the Artemis II mission during its flyby of the moon. All timings are in Eastern Daylight Time and may change slightly as the mission progresses.
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In the early hours of Monday, April 6, at 12,41 am, Orion is expected to be about 41,072 miles from the Moon when it enters the lunar sphere of influence, where the Moon’s gravity becomes stronger than Earth’s. Later in the day, at 1.30 pm, Mission Control will review the crew’s science objectives ahead of the flyby. Shortly afterwards, at 1.56 pm, Artemis II will break yet another record, as the astronauts on board will travel farther from Earth than anyone else ever did before, beating the record held by the Apollo 13 astronauts since 1970.
The astronauts will commence their observations of the moon starting from 2.45 pm, which is a very important part of the mission. Mission Control will lose contact with the spacecraft due to its position behind the moon at 6.44 pm. Just a minute later, at 6.45 pm, the crew will witness a rare ‘Earthset’, where Earth appears to slip behind the Moon from their viewpoint in space.
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The mission reaches one of its most significant milestones at 7.02 pm, when Orion comes within 4,070 miles of the lunar surface – its closest approach. Around 7.07 pm, the crew will also reach their maximum distance from Earth during the entire mission. At 7:25 pm, two key events will occur almost simultaneously: ‘Earthrise’, when Earth reappears from behind the Moon, and the restoration of communication between Mission Control and the astronauts.
The flyby continues with another remarkable celestial event between 8.35 pm and 9.32 pm, when the crew is expected to witness a solar eclipse, as the Sun moves behind the Moon from their perspective. Lunar observations will wrap up at 9.20 pm, bringing an end to this intensive observation window.
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On Tuesday (April 7), at 1.25 pm, Orion will once again be about 41,072 miles from the Moon as it exits the lunar sphere of influence, marking the completion of the flyby phase and the beginning of its journey back toward Earth.
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