The crew of NASA’s Artemis 2 mission is entering a new phase of flight, returning to Earth after a successful flyby of the Moon.
At the beginning of the seventh day, the Orion spacecraft was about 58,400 kilometers from the Moon and as much as 380,000 kilometers from Earth, which clearly shows the scale of the mission in deep space.
Artemis 2 completes the lunar phase and turns towards Earth
At 1:23 PM ET, Orion exits the Moon’s sphere of gravitational influence, officially ending the lunar phase of the mission and beginning its journey back.
During the day, the NASA crew of: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen participate in communications with astronauts on the International Space Station, including Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams and Sophie Adenot. This “ship-to-ship” conversation represents a unique moment of exchange of experiences between two crews in space.
Before Orion moves further away from the Moon, the crew participates in a detailed science briefing with the teams on Earth, in order to convey fresh impressions and observations from the lunar flyby. This data will be crucial for planning future missions and further research.
This is followed by a period of rest, which allows the astronauts to recover before the final activities of the mission.
In the evening, at 21:03, the first of three correction maneuvers of the return path is planned. By activating the thrusters, Orion will further refine its course toward Earth, beginning the final phase of the mission.
The day was also marked by the publication of the first images from the flyby, including spectacular scenes of the “Earth setting” and the solar eclipse observed from space.
Artemis II is now transitioning from the exploratory phase to the return phase, confirming the system’s stability and the crew’s ability to perform complex operations far from Earth, a key step toward future lunar landing missions, NASA reports.