Artemis Orion Enters Lunar Sphere, First Flyby 1972
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- Orion entered the lunar sphere of influence at 0442 GMT Monday, about 39,000 mi from the Moon and 232,000 mi from Earth, marking the first lunar flyby since 1972.
- Victor Glover will be the first person of color to fly around the Moon, while Christina Koch will be the first woman and Jeremy Hansen the first non‑American.
- Crew captured an image of the Orientale basin, the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes.
- Astronauts will witness a solar eclipse of the Moon’s corona and test the Orion crew survival system (OCSS) suits, which can supply up to six days of breathable air and are being worn in space for the first time.
- NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said the flyby data will be crucial for upcoming Artemis 3 (2027) and Artemis 4 (2028) lunar landing missions.
- Crew completed a manual piloting demonstration and reviewed their lunar flyby plan, focusing on life‑support and spacecraft ecosystem.
Why it matters: NASA gains real‑time data on life‑support, navigation and spacecraft performance that will inform the design and safety of Artemis 3’s 2027 lunar landing and Artemis 4’s 2028 mission, while the crew’s historic firsts broaden representation in deep‑space exploration; the flyby also validates the Orion crew survival system’s six‑day emergency air supply, lowering risk for upcoming crewed flights.
