CHICAGO (WLS) — This week marks a historic moment in space exploration, as humans journeyed to the moon for the first time since 1972. This mission has taken astronauts farther into space than ever before.
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Hunter Miller, who works as a public observing educator at the Adler Planetarium, shared insights into the significance of this remarkable mission.
During their journey, four astronauts ventured around the moon’s far side, capturing breathtaking images that captured global attention.
“They witnessed areas of the moon previously only seen through imaging, but now viewed directly by the human eye,” Miller explained. “They traveled far enough from the moon to observe its entire disc.”
Miller described the view, saying, “The moon appeared similar to a basketball held at arm’s length. There’s something uniquely special about seeing it with the human eye. While cameras can be directed to capture perfect images, the human eye notices anomalies and can focus on new details, which is invaluable for exploration.”
Miller also noted the crew’s unexpected observation of a higher number of meteor impacts, which took them by surprise during the mission.
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“These are bright flashes of light on the moon’s surface as little bits of rock from space interact with the moon,” he said.
While lunar landings are planned in the future, during this trip the astronauts did not walk on the moon and did not collect samples.
But they are bringing something back from their trip.
“I do think the most important thing they bring back with them is their experience. These astronauts are the first to fly aboard the Orion capsule. And so, their experience, their time on the spacecraft is a really important thing they bring back with them,” Miller said.
The second: the Orion Capsule.
“They will look at how it handled this flight, this very long and intense journey that it took and see how they can improve that capsule for future missions,” she said.
Artemis III, another test flight, is scheduled to blast off in 2027.
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