And to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth, we love you, from the Moon. We will see you on the other side,
said Artemis II pilot Victor Glover on
April 6th at 6:44pm ET
as 8.3 billion minus four people and one Earth
set
below the Moon's horizon. The Orion spacecraft, Integrity, then traveled behind the Moon as part of its seven-hour lunar flyby.
The crew characterized
never-before-seen regions of
the far side of the Moon,
which is
puzzlingly less volcanically active
than the near side. New observations of
crater peaks, floors, terraces, and rings
preserved on the lunar surface will
help piece together the impact history of the Solar System.
Among many other surface characterizations, the crew observed one of the Moon's best-preserved basins,
the Orientale basin,
and identified
two new craters.
As
Earth rose
above the Moon s horizon and Integrity began its return home, Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch powerfully summarized humanity s grander mission:
...we will always choose Earth. We will always choose each other.
Tomorrow's picture: the death of a comet
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