US EditionNASA Astronauts To See Total Solar Eclipse, Break Distance Record
NASA says the four astronauts will reach 248,655 miles from Earth and view a total solar eclipse from Orion during the flyby.
- On Monday, April 6, the four Artemis II astronauts aboard the Orion capsule will loop around the moon's far side, witnessing a total solar eclipse while breaking the human distance record from Earth.
- The mission launched April 1 from the Kennedy Space Center, with minor Space Launch System rocket delays ultimately positioning the crew to view this rare celestial event.
- During the eclipse, the sun will disappear from the crew's view for about 53 minutes, allowing astronauts to use a "unique vantage point" to study the solar corona normally obscured by glare.
- Orion will lose contact with the Deep Space Network for approximately 40 minutes while behind the moon, before the crew splashes down in the Pacific near San Diego on Friday, April 10.
- Drawing on Apollo 17 lessons, NASA expects the crew to identify subtle lunar color nuances that robotic cameras miss, providing scientific insights into volcanic processes on the moon's far side.
31 Articles
31 Articles
The voyage of the Orion ship in the Artemis II mission marks a historic milestone, as after more than half a century, four astronauts will again orbit the Moon in a ten-day journey that will allow a close look at the hidden face of the satellite, something that very few have been able to witness directly. They will beat another space record: the furthest distance man has come from Earth: Apollo 13 reached a maximum distance of 400,171 kilometers…
In their historic passage this Monday on the hidden side of the Moon - when they will also reach the greatest distance ever achieved by humans from Earth - the four astronauts of Artemis II will be able to observe for about 53 minutes a solar eclipse that will not be visible from our planet.
NASA's Artemis 2 mission, the first manned journey to the Moon in more than half a century, will reach its peak when its astronauts behold the hidden face of the satellite in the early morning of this Monday. And during that lunar overflight, the crew will exceed the record of the greatest distance reached by humans from Earth, established in 1970 by the Apollo 13 mission, which reached 400,171 kilometers from our planet.
During the eclipse, crews can observe the Moon practically dark, which will give them the opportunity to look for light flashes caused by meteoroids that affect the moon's surface.
Artemis 2 astronauts are about to see one of the rarest skywatching sights of all — a solar eclipse from beyond the moon
The four Artemis 2 astronauts will see a solar eclipse from beyond the moon's far side on Monday evening (April 6), and they'll use the opportunity to make some science observations.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 70% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
