Overview
- The four‑person crew exceeded Apollo 13’s mark on Monday at about 1:57 p.m. ET and is expected to top out near 252,760 miles from Earth around 7 p.m. during the flyby.
- Orion is sweeping past the Moon’s far side for nearly seven hours to photograph about 30 targets, including the 600‑mile‑wide Orientale basin, from roughly 4,070 miles above the surface.
- NASA forecasts a planned loss of signal for about 40 minutes starting 6:44 p.m. ET as Orion goes behind the Moon, with the Deep Space Network set to reacquire contact near 7:25 p.m.
- Commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen are sharing real‑time camera views as the plan calls for a late‑evening solar eclipse observation from Orion’s windows.
- The mission flies a free‑return path that uses lunar gravity to sling Orion back to Earth for a Pacific splashdown late this week, with imagery and systems checks informing crewed landings targeted as early as 2028.