Watch: NASA's Artemis II crew snaps Moon's Orientale Basin
What's the story
NASA has released an image of the Moon's far side, including the Orientale Basin. The photo was taken by the Artemis II crew during their historic mission to fly around the Moon and photograph this region. The picture shows the entire Orientale Basin on the right edge of the lunar disk, a sight never seen before by human eyes.
Crew details
Meet the Artemis II crew
The Artemis II mission is a major milestone in human space exploration. It carries three Americans and one Canadian, who are all set to reach the Moon on Monday. The crew includes Canada's Jeremy Hansen and Americans Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch. They are the first humans to visit the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. Notably, Koch and Glover will be the first woman and first Black astronaut to go to the Moon respectively.
Mission objectives
Artemis II mission aims to break human spaceflight distance record
The Artemis II mission isn't just about exploring the Moon's far side, but also about breaking human spaceflight distance records. The spacecraft will travel over 405,554km from Earth before flying around the Moon and returning without landing or entering lunar orbit. This is all part of NASA's long-term plan to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon.
Technical glitch
Toilet malfunction on spacecraft
Despite a smooth launch, the Artemis II crew faced a technical glitch when their toilet malfunctioned. Until it is fixed, Mission Control has advised the astronauts to use backup urine collection bags. NASA engineers suspect ice may be blocking the system, preventing proper flushing of urine overboard. However, the toilet still works for solid waste disposal.