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NASA's Artemis II crew readies for Monday's lunar flyby. Here's what you need to know

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− By Brendan Byrne The astronauts aboard NASA's Artemis II have now reached farther into space than humans have ever ventured.
+ By Brendan Byrne The crew of NASA's Artemis II mission is heading homeward after looping around the far side of the moon.
− This marks a critical milestone of the agency's Orion space capsule, which launched atop an SLS rocket from Kennedy Space Center last week.
+ This marks a critical milestone for the mission, which is the first to send humans to the moon in more than 50 years. And it tops an eventful day for the astronauts aboard the Orion space capsule, which launched atop an SLS rocket from Kennedy Space Center last week.
− The mission, which is set to complete its historic loop around the moon on Monday, is the first mission to send humans to the moon in more than 50 years.
+ Earlier in the day, at 1:57 p.m.
− NASA's live coverage began at 1:00 p.m.
+ ET, the crew surpassed the Apollo 13 distance record of 248,655 statute miles from Earth. For several hours, the crew took turns making observations of the moon during the flyby.
− The Picture Show NASA's Artemis II crew are quite the photographers.
+ The spacecraft completed its closest approach to the Moon at about 7 p.m.
− See what they've snapped so far The Orion spacecraft is now in the lunar sphere of influence, meaning the moon's gravity has more pull on the vehicle than the Earth.
+ ET, coming within 4,067 miles of the lunar surface.
− At 1:57 p.m.
+ At 7:02 p.m., it reached its peak distance of 252,756 miles from the Earth, putting it 4,111 miles over the Apollo 13 record set back in 1970.
− ET, the crew surpassed the record for the farthest distance traveled from Earth by humans, which was set by the Apollo 13 mission at 248,655 statute miles from Earth.
+ At 7:24 p.m.
− At 2:45 p.m., the crew will begin making observations of the surface of the moon during the flyby.
+ the crew watched an "earthrise" as Orion came out from behind the moon. And at 8:35 p.m. the crew witnessed a solar eclipse as a tiny sun appeared to slip behind the moon for an hour.
− As the vehicle circles the far side of the moon, communication back to Earth is expected to be blocked for about 40 minutes.
+ The Picture Show NASA's Artemis II crew are quite the photographers.
− At 7:02 p.m., the crew is expected to have reached the mission's maximum distance from Earth at 252,760 statute miles.
+ See what they've snapped so far The sun emerged from behind the moon about the hour later, and then the crew continued on their way home. The Orion spacecraft will still be in the lunar sphere of influence until about 1:25 p.m. Tuesday, meaning the moon's gravity has more pull on the vehicle than the Earth does.
− The flyby is scheduled to conclude at 9:20 p.m., and then the crew will be on its way home, with a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, Calif., on Friday at 8:07 p.m.
+ After that, the crew is set to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, Calif., on Friday at 8:07 p.m.
− During the Artemis II flyby, the crew will pass over two previous human lunar landing sites — Apollo 12 and 14.
+ During the lunar flyby, thousands of miles above the surface, the crew had a unique vantage point of the moon as a full disc — and the ability to take observations never before seen by human eyes.
− During the lunar flyby, the closest Orion will come to the surface of the moon is 4,070 miles. From that distance, the crew will have a unique vantage point of the moon as a full disc — and the ability to take observations never before seen by human eyes.
NASA scientists have identified about 35 geological features for the crew to observe.
− Working in pairs, they will take photos of the sites and describe them in real time to scientists at Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
+ Working in pairs, the astronauts took photos of the sites and described them in real time to scientists at Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
"They're going to be absolutely buzzing," said Artemis II lunar science lead Kelsey Young on Sunday. The team will monitor the observations and provide guidance to the crew. "The science team will get to work right away, kind of synthesizing those [observations], and then we'll actually downlink the rest of the descriptions overnight, in advance of a crew conference we'll have the following morning to continue the science discussion." Artemis II has 10 science objectives for the flyby. One is to observe color variations on the lunar surface. Changes in color can indicate the composition of the minerals on the surface. These changes are hard to detect with satellite images. "This is something that human eyes are just incredibly good at teasing out nuances about," said Young. Satellites like the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which launched in 2009, have given scientists a better understanding of the lunar surface. The Artemis II crew's observations will build on that knowledge. "We understand, you know, what it's made out of. We understand the topography, but we don't know what the crew are going to see in these specific illumination conditions from a scientific perspective," said Young. "And that's exciting." NASA astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows, looking back at Earth on Saturday, as the crew traveled toward the moon. NASA/Getty Images hide caption The observations will help future landing missions. One target site is a potential future landing area for an uncrewed payload mission. The crew will also get a small glimpse of the lunar south pole — where humans might land as early as 2028.
− Artemis II is more than halfway through its slingshot mission around the moon and back.
This is a test flight of the Orion space capsule, carrying a human crew for the first time. "Our mission continues to go incredibly well," said Lori Glaze, who leads NASA's Artemis program. Tests include manual control of the Orion spacecraft. Mission pilot Victor Glover practiced the maneuverability of the capsule for future rendezvous with lunar landing vehicles. Simon Says Opinion: Humanity's hopes ascended with Artemis II The crew tested the spacecraft's life support systems, like the carbon dioxide scrubbers, and donned their spacesuits midflight — which future astronauts might have to do in an emergency. The Artemis II mission is also testing the first deep-space toilet. NASA's Universal Waste Management System is stowed in the floor of Orion and allows the crew to use the bathroom in private. So far, the hardware has had a few hiccups (not having enough water in the bowl and, at a different point, not being able to dump the waste overboard due to a frozen line), but those seem to be resolved. "We're continuing to proceed with the mission and the use of the toilet nominally," said Artemis II flight director Rick Henfling, meaning the crew is allowed to use the onboard lavatory. Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor