The Artemis 2 lunar exploration crewed spacecraft rocket was successfully launched on June 1 (local time), and the astronauts who will navigate 1,102,400 km are expected to set a variety of new records.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), four astronauts are aboard Artemis 2's crewed capsule Orion. Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will conduct an orbital flight around the Moon over the course of 10 days.
The last time humans set foot on the Moon was during Apollo 17 in 1972. With this launch coming 54 years later, the crew composition has diversified from the predominantly white male astronauts of the past.
Koch, aboard the crew capsule, will become the first woman to orbit the Moon, and Glover will become the first Black person to do so. Hansen is also expected to become the first non-American to orbit the Moon. Wiseman, 50, is set to become the oldest person to visit the Moon, surpassing the age of Alan Shepard, who was 47 when he boarded Apollo 14 in 1971 and walked on the lunar surface.
Artemis 2 will reach the farthest distance from Earth, surpassing the record set by Apollo 13. The astronauts are expected to reach a maximum distance of 406,800 km from Earth during the lunar mission, which is 6,400 km farther than Apollo 13 in 1970.
Artemis 2 will use a "free return trajectory" method that utilizes the Moon's gravity when launched into space. The spacecraft is first launched from Earth like a giant boomerang, angled to skim past the far side of the Moon, and then the Moon's gravity sends the spacecraft back toward Earth. Unlike previous methods, this does not require a separate retrograde propulsion maneuver. As a result, the astronauts are expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere at a speed of 40,200 km/h, breaking the record set during Apollo 10 in 1969.
The Orientale Basin on the far side of the Moon is also a majestic sight that Artemis 2 crew members will be the first to see. The Orientale Basin, formed 3.8 billion years ago when a massive asteroid struck the Moon, spans 930 km in diameter but was not discovered until the 20th century because it is located on the far side. "It turns out that about 60% of the far side has never been seen by human eyes," Wiseman said in an interview with NASA. "Seeing Orientale is a sight that human eyes have never been able to see."
