Artemis II races back to Earth after leaving moon's sphere of influence
Fox News • • science
Key Points:
- Artemis II's Orion capsule exited the moon’s sphere of influence Tuesday, returning under Earth's gravity for the final leg of its journey, with splashdown planned off San Diego on April 10.
- The crew, consisting of four astronauts, remained safe and the spacecraft performed well during the lunar flyby, which included a brief communications blackout and views of the moon's far side.
- A historic space-to-space call occurred between Artemis II and the International Space Station crews, featuring lighthearted exchanges about setting distance records and mutual appreciation among astronauts.
- NASA is accelerating preparations for Artemis III, with the crawler transporting the mobile launcher to reduce turnaround time between missions by about three months, aiming for a 2027 launch.
- Artemis III will focus on testing rendezvous and docking between Orion and commercial lunar landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin, critical for future Moon landings.
