The four astronauts aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission made history Monday. The Orion spacecraft surpassed the 400,000 kilometer mark from Earth, eclipsing the previous distance record set by the Apollo 13 mission in 1970. The milestone was marked by a poignant radio exchange between Calgary-born astronaut Jenni Gibbons, acting as the mission’s ground link in Houston, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen aboard the craft. “Today, for all humanity, you’re pushing beyond that frontier,” Gibbons told the crew from mission control. Hansen acknowledged the giants who came before him while looking toward the future. “We do so honoring the extraordinary efforts and feats of our predecessors in human space exploration,” Hansen said. “We most importantly choose this moment to challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived.” Inspiration at home In Calgary, the atmosphere was electric at the TELUS Spark Science Centre, where crowds gathered to watch the live-streamed event. For young space enthusiasts like nine-year-old Rosey, the gravity of the moment was clear. “We thought it was really cool because they were the first people to get the farthest in space,” she said. As Orion swung around the far side of the moon around 4:45 p.m. MT, communication was lost with NASA, until they reemerged on the other side around 5:25 pm MT. During that time, the astronauts witnessed a sun-lit view of the lunar “backside” — a sight hidden from Earth’s perspective. Maddie Bemrose, interpretive science manager at TELUS Spark, said the craft’s proximity to the lunar surface offered a sense of scale. “Orion and the crew on board are going to be about 6,500 kilometres away from the moon’s surface,” Bemrose said. “For context, that is about the distance between here in Calgary and Dublin, Ireland. So, pretty close.” The journey home While the record-breaking distance is a peak for the mission, the crew’s work is far from over. On Tuesday, the spacecraft will exit the lunar sphere of influence on its return home. The astronauts will conduct deep-space demonstrations, including testing manual piloting systems on Wednesday. By Thursday, the crew will be doing final return preparations. The mission is scheduled to conclude Friday with a re-entry and splashdown off the coast of San Diego at approximately 5 p.m. MT. The TELUS Spark Science Centre plans to host a public viewing party for the splashdown. Details can be found at sparkscience.ca.
