The Artemis 2 astronauts will set a new distance record from Earth today

On April 15, 1970, Jim Lovell, Fred Hayes and Jack Swigert set a distance record when Apollo 13 traveled 248,655 miles from Earth. Nearly 56 years later, the Artemis II crew is expected to break that record by several thousand miles when the Orion spacecraft reaches a maximum distance of 252,757 miles from Earth later today as it completes its journey around the far side of the moon.

NASA Coverage of the flyby begins at 1 PM ET today If you want to follow along at home, while astronauts are expected to set a new distance record from Earth at 1:56 p.m. ET. The journey around the far side of the Moon will take about six hours and includes observations of the lunar surface never before seen by humans, as well as surveys to identify potential landing sites for future missions.

The Artemis II crew will lose communications with Earth for about 40 minutes starting at 6:44 PM ET as they pass behind the Moon until 7:25 PM ET when our planet returns to their view. The mission itinerary for the day includes the following highlights:

In addition to laser Orion Artemis II optical communications system The spacecraft is used to transmit science and crew data to Earth, and traditional radio-based communications systems are still in use. These include the Near Space Network, which relies on global ground stations and relay satellites, as well as JPL’s Deep Space Network, which will restore Orion’s communications with mission control when it reappears from behind the Moon.

At that time, astronauts will attempt to replicate the famous “Earthrise” image, taken during the Apollo 8 mission on December 24, 1968, more than 58 years ago.

After a 17.5-second “external corrective burn” to improve the Orion spacecraft’s path that began last night just after 11 p.m. ET, the Artemis 2 mission entered the moon’s “sphere of influence” at about 12:41 a.m. ET this morning, making the moon’s gravity the “dominant force controlling Orion’s path.” According to NASA update.

After the trip around the moon, the Orion capsule will spend the next four days on a return trip to Earth, with NASA aiming for an April 10 landing in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego.