10 days after the launch of NASA’s Artemis 1 unmanned mission, the Orion spacecraft entered lunar orbit. On Friday, NASA said the agency’s flight controllers “have successfully conducted a burnout to put Orion into a distant orbit,” meaning the spacecraft will fly about 40,000 miles (64,400 kilometers) above the moon.
The agency said that due to the distance of the orbit, the capsule will take about a week to circle the moon halfway, after which it will exit lunar orbit again to begin its journey back to Earth. Orion is expected to break the record for the longest distance traveled by a spacecraft designed to carry astronauts from Earth, the record set by the Apollo 13 spacecraft in 1970.
NASA said Orion will be furthest from Earth, at a distance of more than 430,000 km, on Nov. 28. NASA’s Artemis mission aims to land American astronauts back on the moon for the first time in nearly 50 years. The first unmanned Artemis mission takes the Orion probe 64,000 km from the Moon to demonstrate its capabilities.
After about four to six weeks, the mission will eventually test Orion’s ability to return safely to Earth. This will be followed by Artemis 2, Orion’s first manned spaceflight mission.
The moon landing will be the culmination of the Artemis missions. Originally designated for 2024, this historic event is currently scheduled for 2025. The mission will carry four astronauts into lunar orbit in the Orion spacecraft, where two of them, including at least one female, will transfer to a SpaceX lander for final approach to the moon.
