Artemis II live updates as astronauts to set distance record with moon flyby
By Sarah Lynch Baldwin, Emily Mae Czachor, William Harwood
What to know about the Artemis II moon mission today
- Artemis II astronauts are expected to make history Monday when they travel farther from Earth than any humans in history. The Orion spacecraft’s four-person crew is scheduled to pass the Apollo 13 distance record of 248,655 miles from Earth, set in 1970, and continue on to 252,760 miles.
- The astronauts are conducting a lunar flyby that is set to make them the first humans to see some parts of the far side of the moon with the naked eye. The spacecraft’s closest approach to the moon will be 4,070 miles.
- The crew is expected to briefly lose signal during their flyby Monday, which comes five days after the Artemis II mission lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a test flight setting the stage for future moon missions.
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Crew receives message from astronaut Jim Lovell that was recorded before he died
As the crew began preparing for Monday’s flyby, they listened to a message that legendary astronaut Jim Lovell recorded before he died.
Lovell, who died last August at 97, orbited the moon with Apollo 8 in 1968 and commanded the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission.
“Hello, Artemis II! This is Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell. Welcome to my old neighborhood!” Lovell said in the recording, which flight controllers in Houston beamed up to Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen shortly after they woke up.
“When Frank Borman, Bill Anders, and I orbited the Moon on Apollo 8, we got humanity’s first up-close look at the Moon and got a view of the home planet that inspired and united people around the world,” Lovell said. “I’m proud to pass that torch on to you — as you swing around the Moon and lay the groundwork for missions to Mars … for the benefit of all.”
Lovell said he knew they would be busy today but reminded them “to enjoy the view.”
“So, Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy, and all the great teams supporting you – good luck and Godspeed from all of us here on the good Earth,” he said.
Wiseman replied, “That was an awesome message from Jim Lovell. Very cool to hear him welcoming us to the neighborhood. It’s going to be a great day.”
The spacecraft communicator Amy Dill in mission control said, “That gave me chills, definitely one of my heroes.”
Where is Artemis II now?
Artemis II is more than 245,400 miles from Earth, and less than 18,400 miles from the moon, NASA’s real-time tracker showed late Monday morning.
The tracker’s latest update shows the Orion spacecraft speeding toward the moon at a velocity of 1,147 miles per hour. At this point, Earth looks like a dark sphere hovering behind it.
NASA says crew is awake and preparing for today’s lunar flyby
NASA said Monday morning that the Artemis II crew is awake and preparing for the lunar flyby.
“Morning routine: Wake up, shave, make the bed, witness something that’s never before been seen by human eyes,” the agency posted on X. “The Artemis II crew is preparing for today’s lunar flyby, when they will see the Moon’s far side.”
The astronauts woke up 18,830 miles from the moon, to sounds of “Good Morning” by Mandisa and TobyMac.
NASA posted on X at 10:35 a.m. ET. The crew had been scheduled to wake up at 10:50.
