NASA astronauts went to the Moon over fifty years ago. This led to a series of “firsts.” It was the first time a human walked on the Moon. The first Moon rocks were brought back to Earth. Today, the Artemis missions are bringing astronauts to the Moon again. The Artemis II mission began when the Orion spacecraft was launched on April 1, 2026. With four astronauts (a person who is trained to travel into space) aboard, this flight to the Moon and back also had several “firsts.”
During the trip, the astronauts traveled farther from Earth than any human being. When they circled the Moon, they were over 250,000 miles from Earth! This broke the old record set in 1970.
The astronauts also saw a total solar eclipse (when the Moon appears to cover the Sun completely) from a different view. The Moon passed between the Sun and the Orion spacecraft. It totally blocked the Sun for almost 53 minutes. That’s about seven times longer than we normally see total solar eclipses on Earth!
The remaining Artemis missions will also bring us a lot of “firsts.” During Artemis III, astronauts will test equipment. They will make sure the Orion spacecraft can land on the Moon. During Artemis IV, the Orion spacecraft will land near the Moon’s south pole. For about a week, astronauts will test new spacesuits. It will be the longest time humans have spent on the Moon’s surface. During Artemis V, astronauts will live and work on the Moon for extended periods of time. They will build the first Moon base.
What Do You Think? Why do you think space exploration involves a lot of “firsts”?
Photo Credit: (t)NASA Kennedy Space Center (NASA-KSC), (b)NASA
