April 2026

The Orion Integrity spacecraft and the Moon in the background (Image NASA)

0

NASA’s Orion Integrity spacecraft has completed a record-breaking journey around the Moon as part of the Artemis II mission. It didn’t enter lunar orbit, but “merely” circled it to boldly go where no one has gone before, approximately 406,771 kilometers (252,756 miles) from Earth, breaking the record for the maximum distance for a human spaceflight that was held by Apollo 13. That 1970 mission reminds us of the risks astronauts face in space, and after completing that feat, astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Jeremy Hansen set course for their return to Earth, scheduled for Friday, April 10.

The Space Launch System lifts off with the Orion Integrity spacecraft (NASA Photo/Bill Ingalls)

0

It was afternoon in the USA when NASA’s Orion spacecraft separated from the last stage, called the ICPS (Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage), of the Space Launch System (SLS), which blasted off almost two hours earlier from the Kennedy Space Center. The Orion entered the trajectory that will take it around the Moon to carry out its mission, which will last about 10 days. This is the second launch for the SLS and for the Orion in its full configuration. The Artemis II mission is important because it’s the first of this program to have a crew aboard.