Artemis II a stone's throw from the Moon

One last small course correction and a tight schedule with the survival suits, the orange ones we saw on take-off, is planned for this day. They will also serve for the delicate stages of re-entry and could also be needed in emergencies, we hope not of course.

Space suits are something very complex, these orange ones supplied have a specific purpose, to provide astronauts with an environment that protects them, but also keeps them alive for up to six days by providing a breathable atmosphere in case the Orion capsule cabin becomes depressurised.

The daily activity of the astronauts can, however, always be seen on the Nasa.gov website, and it is an, let's call it, interesting spectacle, which includes studying, experimenting and planning the photographs of the Moon, which will soon be taken, once behind the Moon, on specific targets requested by the scientists. You can see it all live on the Nasa.gov website, to get a sense of the continuous activity, even in the days leading up to the big climax.

Shortly before 8 p.m. in Italy, they will have covered a greater distance from Earth than any other human being, surpassing the record of 248,655 miles set by Apollo 13.

We are now there, and in the next few hours the flight plan is to arrive in the vicinity of the Moon, pass behind our natural satellite, on the side of the face hidden from us, and then take the trajectory home, no laps around the Moon as on the Apollo 8 mission in December 1968, which circled the Moon 10 times in 20 hours.

To finish with the records of this mission, when the spacecraft will be behind the Moon, the long-awaited moment of the journey, communications with Earth will be interrupted, for the reason that our satellite will stand between Orion and the Deep Space Network antennas, including those of the Italian Telespazio. A few moments with bated breath and then everything will return to normal. At its maximum distance from Earth, Artemis II will reach a distance of 406,761 kilometres, 6606 more than the record of the famous Apollo 13 mission. Let us prepare for photographs of the dark side of the Moon, which few have seen with their own eyes.