Astronauts set distance record, revealing the Moon as a place to be explored

Eclipse chasers on Earth know that the Moon’s passage in front of the Sun offers a rare opportunity to see the solar corona, the Sun’s outer atmosphere. The super-heated corona extends millions of miles into space. For the Artemis II astronauts, the corona created a halo-like effect around the perimeter of the Moon.

“It’s glowing behind the entire Moon,” Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen said. “I thought it would look dark against the black sky or deep space, but the Sun is lighting up the entire limb of the Moon. You can see the entire perimeter of it … You can still make out little bits of topography around the entire limb. Just bumps as you go around it.”

Glover, 49, continued with his narration, identifying stars and planets not easily visible when the spacecraft is illuminated in sunlight.

“That was an absolutely spectacular, magnificent experience,” Wiseman said after the end of the eclipse. “Houston, if you could give me about 20 new superlatives in the mission summary for tomorrow, that would help my vocabulary out a bit.”

Awesome in every sense

The cosmic eclipse capped a remarkable day at the Moon that began with a wakeup call recorded by former astronaut Jim Lovell before his death last year. Lovell flew around the Moon twice, first on Apollo 8 in 1968, the first crew mission to see the Moon up close. He was later the commander of Apollo 13, which set the previous human spaceflight distance record in 1970. Apollo 13 zoomed around the Moon after famously aborting its lunar landing mission.

“Welcome to my old neighborhood!” Lovell said in the prerecorded message. “When Frank Borman, Bill Anders, and I orbited the Moon on Apollo 8, we got humanity’s first up-close look at the Moon and got a view of the home planet that inspired and united people around the world. I’m proud to pass that torch on to you—as you swing around the Moon and lay the groundwork for missions to Mars … for the benefit of all. It’s a historic day, and I know how busy you’ll be. But don’t forget to enjoy the view. So, Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy, and all the great teams supporting you–good luck and Godspeed from all of us here on the good Earth.”

A short time later, Artemis II passed Lovell’s Apollo 13 record. Jenni Gibbons, an astronaut in mission control, marked the moment with a radio call to the Orion spacecraft. Hansen responded with the crew’s request to name two craters on the Moon, one for their Integrity spaceship and the other for Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll, who died of cancer in 2020.