Artemis II live: Nasa astronauts returning to Earth after seeing parts of Moon ‘no human has ever seen’ – UK Times

The Orion spacecraft (Integrity) fired its thrusters briefly to adjust its path and head back toward Earth, Nasa said yesterday.

Astronauts Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen monitored systems during the manoeuvre, and Nasa also released the first images from the lunar flyby and confirmed that the recovery ship is en route in the Pacific.

The crew will rest overnight, Nasa added, before preparing for final tests and return-to-Earth operations on Wednesday.

And here, in video form, are those astonishing new images from the astronauts’ journey:

Nasa is sharing some of the images that the astronauts have sent back from their trip around the backside of the Moon. Here’s a selection.

The crew of Nasa’s Artemis II mission have started the journey home after creating history on their pass behind the Moon.

The four astronauts on the first manned Moon mission in more than 50 years reached 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometres) from Earth.

The record was achieved during a seven-hour lunar flyby which included a 40-minute communication blackout as they passed around the far side of the Moon from Earth.

Apollo 13’s previous record was 248,655 miles (400,171 kilometres) from Earth in April 1970.

During the blackout, the crew reached their closest point to the Moon at 4,067 miles (6,545 kilometres).

Before the flyby, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen said: “It is blowing my mind what you can see with the naked eye from the Moon right now. It is just unbelievable”.

The astronauts asked Nasa if they could name two newly observed lunar craters Integrity, after the capsule of their Orion spacecraft, and Carroll in honour of the late wife of Commander Reid Wiseman. She died of cancer in 2020.

Pilot Victor Glover and Christina Koch complete the four-strong crew, who experienced a total solar eclipse from their vantage point behind the moon early on Tuesday.

Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman said on X: “Before they left, they said they hoped this mission would be forgotten, but it will be remembered as the moment people started to believe that America can once again do the near-impossible and change the world.

“This mission isn’t over until they’re under safe parachutes, splashing down into the Pacific.”

As the Artemis II Orion capsule flew by the Moon, crew members described craters on the lunar far side as having a range of colours from oranges and browns, to greens, sometimes appearing brighter than snow on Earth.

“All the really bright, new craters, some of them are super tiny, most of them are pretty small, there are a couple that really stand out. What it really looks like is a lampshade with tiny pinprick holes and the light shining through,” astronaut Christina Koch said during a live broadcast.

“There are islands of terrain out there that are completely surrounded by darkness, which indicates some real variation in terrain. Up to the north, there is a very nice double crater. It looks like a snowman sitting there,” crew member Victor Glover said.

As the Orion spacecraft flew over the far side of the Moon, the crew photographed and described terrain features like impact craters, ancient lava flows, and surface cracks and ridges.

They made observations of the colour, brightness and texture of these features which would provide clues for scientists to better understand the composition and history of the lunar surface.

Astronauts also witnessed an “earthset”, the moment the Earth dropped below the lunar horizon, and an “earthrise” as the spacecraft emerged from the opposite edge of the moon.

They reported observing light flashes created by meteoroids impacting the lunar surface while traveling many thousands of miles per hour.

The crew also witnessed a nearly hour-long solar eclipse as the spacecraft, the Moon and the Sun aligned.

Once the mission’s lunar data is downlinked from the spacecraft, scientists on earth will look at it and compare with data from amateur atronomers who are also observing the Moon at the same time.

NASA has shared photos of the moon as taken from the mission’s Orion capsule on Monday.

The photos offer clear views of parts of the near as well as far sides of the lunar surface.

The Artemis II mission crew said they spotted at least four impact flashes, which are glints of light caused by asteroids striking the moon.

Crew commander Reid Wiseman said he saw two impacts while astronaut Jeremy Hansen saw another two.

“There was a little bit of giddiness,” Wiseman said.

Such asteroid impacts on the lunar surface are common as the moon lacks an atmosphere to slow down space rocks.

Studying lunar asteroid impacts has helped study how the moon has evolved over time.

A Nutella tub was spotted photobombing astronauts as it casually floated out of the spacecraft’s kitchen, offering what internet users are calling a “free advertising” moment for the chocolate-hazelnut spread.

The Italian company took to X, sharing a video of the moment.

“Honoured to have traveled further than any spread in history,” it said in the post.

During the mission, the Artemis crew experienced their own personal solar eclipse as their Orion capsule passed behind the moon, with the sun entirely eclipsed from their perspective.

The eclipse lasted for about an hour and provided astronauts the opportunity to observe the sun’s corona.

During this time mission control on Earth temporarily lost communications with the capsule for about 40 minutes, which was planned and expected.