NASA Astronauts to Approach Moon at Closest Point on Monday During Mission

A crew of four NASA astronauts will conduct a flyby of the moon on Monday, approaching at the closest distance to the lunar surface planned for their mission. This distance represents the nearest any human has approached the moon since missions more than 50 years ago.

The astronauts are part of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface and establish a sustainable presence there.

The mission involves the Orion spacecraft, launched earlier this month from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew, consisting of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Warren Hoburg, and Butch Wilmore, along with European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen, departed on the Space Launch System rocket. This flyby occurs during the outbound phase toward a planned orbit around the moon.

NASA's Artemis I mission, though uncrewed in its first iteration, sets the stage for crewed flights like this one, which is Artemis II. The program builds on the Apollo era, which last sent humans to the moon in 1972 during Apollo 17. Since then, no crewed missions have ventured beyond low Earth orbit to this proximity.

The upcoming flyby will allow the crew to test systems and gather data on deep space operations.

The closest approach is expected at about 80 miles (129 kilometers) from the lunar surface, according to mission parameters. This altitude provides opportunities for observation and photography of the moon's far side, which is not visible from Earth. The crew will not land but will continue to a distant retrograde orbit before returning to Earth in several weeks.

This mission affects NASA's long-term goals of lunar exploration and preparation for Mars missions. Stakeholders include international partners like the European Space Agency and private companies involved in spacecraft development. Success here validates the Orion capsule's capabilities for future crewed landings.