The Orion spacecraft, on its Artemis 1 mission, set a new record on November 28 for the farthest distance from Earth ever reached by a spacecraft designed to carry humans.
This record was established at the peak of its distant lunar orbit as the Orion spacecraft entered this trajectory.
The Orion spacecraft captured an image of the Moon eclipsing Earth from space. (Photo: NASA).
According to Sputnik, the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reported that on November 28, the Orion spacecraft was at a distance of 432,195 kilometers from Earth, and nearly 65,000 kilometers beyond the Moon’s orbit. From this distance, the Orion spacecraft’s camera captured a never-before-seen image of the Moon obscuring Earth. This image has drawn comparisons to the famous “pale blue dot” photograph taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft as it passed through the orbit of Neptune in February 1990.
The distance of nearly half a million kilometers is not the farthest that a human-made spacecraft has traveled. Previously, many probes have reached the planets within the Solar System. In fact, the Voyager probes have completely exited the Solar System and ventured into interstellar space. However, this is the farthest distance achieved by a spacecraft intended to carry humans as of now.
Currently, on the Artemis 1 mission, the Orion spacecraft is carrying three test dummies to assess the interaction forces on the human body in space, as well as conduct various scientific experiments. The Artemis 1 mission aims to test the capabilities of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft as they operate in space, including their return to Earth’s atmosphere. The Orion spacecraft is expected to return to Earth on December 11.
Humans have not left low Earth orbit since December 1972, when the Apollo spacecraft carried two astronauts to the Moon and back.
With upcoming missions, the world is ambitious about extending the time humans spend on the Moon. Prominent among the nations are the United States and China, which have outlined plans to begin constructing a permanent base on the Moon in the coming years, aimed at serving as a hub for exploring this natural satellite as well as the rest of the Solar System.
