ASTRONAUTS on the Artemis II mission have plunged into darkness as they travel to the far side of the moon – with no contact to Earth.
The crew have lost contact and are completely alone in the universe for a whopping 40 minutes.
Their lunar flyby takes them to the far side of the moon which is not visible from Earth.
In their last words
During the total cut off from earth the astronauts, totally alone, are expected to be taking images, studying the Moon’s geology and simply taking in their mission.
The four crew — Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen — cried and hugged at the historic “honour”.
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They challenged “this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived”.
The crew faced a deliberate communication blackout during a flyby of the moon’s far side before preparing to slingshot back to Earth.
As the four Orion capsule crew prepared to loop around the moon’s far side, they vowed: “We will continue our journey even farther before Mother Earth succeeds in pulling us back to everything we hold dear.”
Americans Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover plus Canadian Jeremy Hansen beat the record of 248,655 miles set by Apollo 13 in 1970.
They also revealed a newly-discovered lunar crater would be named after Commander Wiseman’s wife Carroll, who died of cancer in 2020.
A second will be named Integrity, their capsule’s nickname.
Speaking to Mission Control in Houston shortly before 7pm UK time, Hansen said: “From the cabin of Integrity, we surpass the farthest distance humans have ever travelled from Planet Earth.
“We do so in honouring the extraordinary efforts and feats of our predecessors in human space exploration.
“We will continue our journey even farther into space before Mother Earth succeeds in pulling us back to everything we hold dear.
“But we most importantly use this moment to challenge this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived.”
Hansen’s voice cracked as he spoke of Carroll Wiseman, who died aged 46.
He said: “We lost a loved one, her name was Carroll, the spouse of Reid, the mother of Katie and Ellie.”
He said the crater was “a bright spot on the moon”.
British astronaut Tim Peake described the distance record as a “very special moment” on a mission “full of incredible firsts”.
Helen Sharman, the first Brit to go to space in 1991, called it a “tremendous” breakthrough.
At 11.44pm crew on the Artemis II mission were completely cut off from Earth, as the moon blocked their signals for 40 minutes.
Nasa scientists held their breath in hope as the crew headed even farther out to reach 252,760 miles from Earth — the new record — just after midnight.
Pilot Glover had urged people to use the silence as “an opportunity to pray, hope, send your good thoughts and feelings that we get back in contact”.
In 1969 Apollo 11’s Michael Collins faced a similar blackout while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin went to the surface.
Yesterday crew were woken to a message from Apollo 13’s Jim Lovell, recorded before his death aged 97 last year.
He told them “welcome to my old neighbourhood” and “don’t forget to enjoy the view”.
At 5.41am yesterday the Orion crew reached the point where the pull of the moon’s gravity was stronger than that felt from the Earth behind them.
Koch said: “We’re now falling to the moon rather than rising from Earth. It’s an amazing milestone.”
Before the historic flyby and seven-hour observation of the far side, from around 7.45pm UK time, Nasa shared a picture of Hansen shaving in zero gravity while using an iPhone as a mirror.
Artemis science officer Dr Kelsey Young predicted the crew would take thousands of photographs, and have eyes on the south polar region — a possible site for a base for missions to Mars.
The crew had been ordered to spend between eight and 20 minutes observing and making notes of possible targets.
They also made audio recordings of what they were seeing to be analysed by experts back home.
Dr Young added: “They’ll be taking in the majesty that is the lunar far side.
“I know the data will inspire the next generation of scientists and explorers but it will also bring the moon closer.”
The landing sites of Apollo 12 (1969) and Apollo 14 (1971) could be seen at the start of their observation.
The crew took pictures of Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn.
Once Orion has looped around the moon, it will take four days to get home.
It is due to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere on Friday and splash down in the Pacific.