Moon

Nasa astronauts begin journey home having collected eagerly awaited images of impact craters and ridgesNasa’s Artemis II astronauts have described the powerful emotion felt when soaring over the moon as they photographed impact craters, cracks and ridges and began their long journey home.Among the eagerly awaited images captured by the crew, who worked in pairs at the Orion capsule windows, are those of the Earth rising from behind the moon, a solar eclipse and parts of the 590-mile (950km) wide Orientale impact basin that have never been observed with the naked eye. Continue reading...

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Nasa’s Orion capsule will be just over 4,000 miles above lunar surface, allowing astronauts to see both polesThe four astronauts on Nasa’s Artemis II mission are poised to begin the first flyby of the far side of the moon in more than half a century, bringing them to the furthest point from Earth ever reached by humans.The crew of three Americans and one Canadian earlier entered the moon’s “sphere of influence”, where its gravity has a stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth’s. Continue reading...

Four astronauts are set to become Earth’s farthest travelled and exceed a 1970 record on the sixth day of the missionArtemis II astronauts are on course to set a new distance record Monday when they fly by the moon without stopping there – and then swing around for planet Earth.The four astronauts – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch of the US space agency Nasa; and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen – will become Earth’s farthest travelled, going 5,000 miles (8,047km) beyond the moon, exceeding the distance record set by 1970’s ill-fated Apollo 13. Continue reading...

Nasa team get deeper into space than any humans have ever venturedAstronauts on the historic Artemis II mission are expected to reach the far side of the moon on Monday, venturing deeper into space than any humans before them.Nasa has reported satisfaction with progress toward the lunar fly-round since the team’s launch on Wednesday, with the three Americans and one Canadian on course to break the record for maximum range from Earth just as a total solar eclipse awaits. Continue reading...

Capsule’s engine fires up for six minutes, putting crew on track to reach farthest distance travelled by humans in spaceThe four astronauts on the Artemis II mission are approaching 100,000 miles from Earth as they head towards the moon, putting them on track to reach the farthest distance humans have ever travelled into space.The crew have left Earth’s orbit and fired their engines on Thursday for a “translunar injection”, sending the Orion capsule on its trajectory towards the moon. Continue reading...

• NASA's Artemis II mission has reached a critical point of no return, with the Orion spacecraft performing its trans-lunar injection burn and now headed toward the Moon. • The mission represents a major milestone in NASA's efforts to return humans to lunar exploration after decades since the Apollo program. • Artemis II serves as a crucial test flight for the Space Launch System and Orion capsule before planned crewed lunar landings.

Nasa mission enters its second day, with crew hoping to become first people to get close to the moon in over 50 yearsFour astronauts are preparing to leave Earth’s orbit and slingshot towards the moon as Nasa’s Artemis II mission enters its second day.The high-stakes 10-day voyage will mark the first time in half a century that humans leave space close to Earth and return to the vicinity of the moon. It is a crucial test of Nasa’s ambition to land humans back on the lunar surface this decade, and stay there permanently. Continue reading...

Follow latest updates, including how to watch the launch, as four astronauts prepare to set off on a 685,000-mile journey with millions watchingA two-hour launch window for Artemis II opens at 6.24pm EST (11.24pm BST) after an almost four-hour fueling process. Nasa’s final weather briefing on Tuesday reported an 80% chance of favorable conditions for launch.Mission managers will be watching closely data from launchpad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, as well as real-time and forecast weather information. Any last-minute technical issue or weather violation can cause a scrubbed launch attempt, or a delay, right up to T-0 (the moment the countdown clock reaches zero). Continue reading...

Fully crewed rocket will head to moon from Florida – first time since 1972 that humans will have left lower Earth orbitA little more than an hour before sunset on Florida’s space coast, up to 400,000 people packed on beaches and causeways will look to the heavens on Wednesday to witness a fiery spectacle not seen in almost 54 years: a fully crewed Nasa rocket heading back to the moon.The launch of Artemis II, scheduled for 6.24pm ET if weather and any late technical gremlins grant their consent, marks the first time since the Apollo 17 mission of December 1972 that humans will have left lower Earth orbit. Continue reading...