NASA Artemis Crew Begins Fifth Day Circling the Moon in Record-Breaking Mission

Astronauts on NASA’s Artemis 2 have begun their fifth day in space, continuing their journey around the Moon while capturing unprecedented views of its surface.

The Orion spacecraft carrying the four-person crew was reported to be about 215,000 miles from Earth and roughly 65,000 miles from the Moon on Sunday.

The team was awakened by a recorded message from former Apollo astronaut Charlie Duke, who offered encouragement and reflected on NASA’s legacy.

“Below you on the Moon is a photo of my family… Thanks to you and the whole team on the ground for building on our Apollo legacy with Artemis,” he said.

NASA also shared imagery taken by the crew showing the Moon’s Orientale basin, a large crater visible in its entirety for the first time by human observers.

“This mission marks the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes,” the agency stated.

Astronaut Christina Koch described the moment as significant while speaking to Canadian students during a live session.

“It’s very distinctive and no human eyes previously had seen this crater until today… we were privileged enough to see it,” she said.

The mission will soon reach a critical phase as the spacecraft enters the lunar sphere of influence, where the Moon’s gravitational pull exceeds that of Earth.

If all goes as planned, astronauts Koch, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen could set a distance record for human spaceflight while orbiting the far side of the Moon.

NASA confirmed that the crew has already conducted manual piloting tests and reviewed navigation and observation plans for the lunar flyby.

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said the mission is primarily focused on evaluating spacecraft performance.

“We’re focusing very much on the ecosystem, the life support system of the spacecraft… That’s what we’re most interested in getting data from,” he said during a CNN interview.

On the agenda for day five is testing of the crew’s survival suits, which are essential for launch, re-entry, and emergency scenarios.

The astronauts will “conduct a full sequence of suit operations, including putting on and pressurizing their suits, performing leak checks, simulating seat entry, and assessing mobility and their ability to eat and drink,” according to NASA.

While no lunar landing is planned, the mission is expected to achieve a milestone by surpassing the record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth.

Isaacman noted that the upcoming far-side lunar pass will provide valuable insights.

“Over the next day, they will be on the far side of the Moon… and we’re going to learn an awful lot about the spacecraft,” he said, adding that the findings will support future Artemis missions, including a planned lunar landing in 2028.

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