Artemis II of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has reached a point closer to the moon than to Earth.
NASA said on the 4th (local time) via social media (SNS) that Artemis II, the first crewed spacecraft headed for the moon in half a century, has passed more than half of its route to its destination. According to NASA's website, as of 9:55 a.m. Pacific time that day, the distance from Artemis II to the moon was 110,000 miles (177,000 km). NASA also released a photo of the moon seen through the docking hatch of the Orion capsule carrying Artemis II astronauts.
An additional burn for orbital adjustment had been planned for day 3 after launch, but it was canceled because no position correction was needed. On the next day, day 5 after launch, it will fully enter the moon's sphere of influence. This refers to the point where the moon's gravity acts more strongly than Earth's gravity.
The remaining key task is to circle the far side of the moon and observe views of the moon that humans have not previously seen with their own eyes. At this point, Artemis II will recede to a distance of 252,757 miles (about 406,773 km) from Earth, setting a new record for humanity's farthest venture from Earth. This surpasses the 248,655-mile (about 400,171 km) record set by Apollo 13 in 1970.
Artemis II is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego on the 10th. In the process, the Orion capsule will reenter Earth's atmosphere at 25,000 mph (about 40,234 km/h) and must withstand a high temperature of 2,760 degrees Celsius.