HOUSTON – Scientists at NASA and the rest of the world are beaming at the incredible images of Artemis 2’s flyby around the far side of the moon.
On Monday (April 6), astronauts aboard NASA orion spaceship completed its closest approach the moon. During that historic flyby, the crew took stunning photographs and made a variety of lunar observations, some of which were greeted with applause inside the Scientific Evaluation Room here at Johnson Space Center.
Monday’s flyby was the centerpiece of the Artemis 2 mission. It was the scientific focus of the crew’s 10-day trip to the moon and back, so researchers were eager to know what the astronauts saw. And the results have not disappointed so far.
“Spirits are high,” Young said. “We did what we set out to do. The lunar science team and crew prepared extensively,” he said, but they were not prepared to see so many impacts.
Near the end of Orion’s closest lunar approach on Monday night, the sun set behind the moon, creating a solar eclipse for the astronauts that lasted almost an hour. During that time, crewmates say they witnessed no fewer than five micrometeorite impacts on the far side of the Moon.
Artemis 2 marks the first time humans travel to the moon space from Apollo 17 in 1972, so the mission’s scientific team prepared the astronauts exhaustively.
During their flight, crew members were tasked with identifying multiple geographic features, photographing the lunar surface, and recording their findings for scientists. Land. And, with the brightest part of the sun Blocked by the moon’s disk, the Artemis 2 astronauts could make out flashes of each impact with just their eyes.
Impact flashes are caused by micrometeors hitting the Moon and can help scientists learn about the dynamics of the lunar environment.
“This is absolutely everything we hoped for by integrating science into flight operations,” Young said. “Science allows exploration and exploration allows science.”
