Artemis II creates history; Orion spacecraft enters Moon's gravitational field

NEW YORK: The Orion spacecraft has created history by entering the Moon's gravitational field. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit at 10:11 am IST as part of the Artemis II mission. This marks the first time since 1972 that humans have entered the Moon’s gravitational field. The last such mission was Apollo 17, which took place 54 years ago. NASA confirmed that the spacecraft entered the Moon’s gravitational field exactly as scheduled.

The crew aboard the spacecraft includes Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Jeremy Hansen. A small doll named 'Rise,' fitted with a memory card containing the names of 56 lakh people, is also part of the mission. The spacecraft was launched aboard NASA's Space Launch System rocket on April 2 at 4.04 am IST from the Kennedy Space Center launch pad. Orion separated from the rocket within eight minutes of launch. After conducting experiments while orbiting the Moon, the spacecraft will land in the Pacific Ocean near the San Francisco coast on the tenth day.

Data from the Artemis II mission will be used for future experiments. In 2027, NASA plans to test docking the Orion spacecraft with a lunar lander in low Earth orbit. This lander will later be used for missions to the Moon. In 2028, astronauts are expected to land on the Moon as part of the Artemis IV mission to establish a lunar base.