tech
Artemis II reveals new colors of the Moon and clues about its mineral composition
The Artemis II mission reached one of the most important milestones in the history of space exploration on April 6.
TL;DR
- Artemis II astronauts traveled closer to the Moon than any humans before, reaching within 6,400 km.
- The crew experienced a 40-minute loss of communication while orbiting the Moon's far side.
- New geological formations, named 'Integrity' and 'Carol' craters, were identified.
- The mission observed color variations on the lunar surface, indicating mineral composition.
- Artemis II breaks the distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970.
- The crew includes Christina Koch (farthest human from Earth), Victor Glover (first African American), and Jeremy Hansen (first Canadian in deep space).
- The mission included scientific evaluations and technical tests, with a return planned for April 10.