Artemis II crew now closer to the moon than earth: NASA

NASA said the Artemis II crew is now closer to the Moon than Earth on Saturday as they prepare for a lunar flyby.

NASA is set to launch four astronauts on Wednesday evening on a 10-day flight around the moon, marking the most ambitious US space mission in decades and a major step toward returning humans to the lunar surface before China’s first crewed landing. pic.twitter.com/jjKouhFSxI

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Integrity remains on a free return trajectory and is on the outbound transit towards the moon, with lunar flyby day 6, which is Monday, said Mission Management Team Chair John Honeycutt.

“Reid (Wiseman), Victor (Glover), Christina (Koch) and Jeremy (Hansen) are now closer to the moon than they are to Earth,” he added.

During the flyby on Monday, the crew is expected to witness a rare 53-minute solar eclipse from deep space offering a perspective unique to the mission.

“The sun will pass behind the moon from their perspective, creating a solar eclipse that is very, very unique to this mission,” said Artemis Science Flight Operations Lead Dr. Kelsey Young.

Officials say the mission is a key step toward a long-term human presence beyond Earth.

“I would hope that people would say that this made possible a continued presence on the moon, that we are now living and working on a regular basis on the moon in 50 years,” said Artemis II Ascent Flight Director Judd Frieling.