April 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nAstronaut Jeremy Hansen said the moment was “to challenge this generation and the next, to make sure this record is not long-lived.”<\/p>\n
The lunar flyby observation period will continue until approximately 2:20am Irish time.<\/p>\n
Soon astronauts will witness a solar eclipse, when the Sun will be behind the Moon.<\/p>\n
‘Wow’<\/p>\n
The more than six-hour task of observing and documenting the lunar surface brought human perspective to features of the Moon that we primarily know through photographs taken by robots.<\/p>\n
Victor Glover detailed the “terminator” – the Moon’s boundary between night and day.<\/p>\n
“Wow – I wish I had some more time to just sit here and describe what I’m seeing,” he said, before creating a vivid portrait for the scientists listening in from Earth.<\/p>\n
“But the terminator right now is just fantastic. It is the most rugged that I’ve seen it from a lighting perspective.”<\/p>\n
Kelsey Young, the lead scientist for the Artemis II mission, responded with elation.<\/p>\n
“Oh my gosh, that was an amazing picture you just painted,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Those types of observations are things that humans are uniquely able to contribute, and you just really brought us along with you.”<\/p>\n
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Fellow astronaut Christina Koch, meanwhile, offered a colourful rendering of lunar craters.<\/p>\n
“What it really looks like is like a lampshade with tiny pinprick holes and the light shining through,” she said. “They are so bright compared to the rest of the Moon.”<\/p>\n
Moon memorials<\/p>\n
The Orion capsule is zipping around the Moon before U-turning and heading back to Earth in a so-called “free-return trajectory,” a return-trip that will take about four days.<\/p>\n
Adding to the historic nature of the mission led by Reid Wiseman, the Artemis II crew includes several firsts.<\/p>\n
Victor Glover will be the first person of colour to fly around the Moon, Ms Koch will be the first woman, and Canadian Hansen the first non-American.<\/p>\n
Yesterday’s celestial workday included a poignant moment just after the crew broke the distance record, when they proposed designating two previously unnamed craters.<\/p>\n
The first they requested to name in honor of their spacecraft’s nickname, “Integrity.”<\/p>\n
They offered a second name, “Carroll,” for another crater, which they asked be named after the late wife of mission commander Reid Wiseman, who died of cancer.<\/p>\n
“It’s a bright spot on the Moon,” said Mr Hansen, his voice breaking with emotion. “And we would like to call it Carroll.”<\/p>\n
The astronauts embraced, and mission control in Houston held a moment of silence.<\/p>\n
NASA said they would formally submit the name proposals to the International Astronomical Union, the body charged with naming celestial bodies and surface features.<\/p>\n