NASA’s uncrewed Orion capsule made the closest visit to the moon since Apollo 17 50 years ago.
On the return part of its inaugural voyage, Orion flew by the moon a week after reaching its farthest point in space, 270,000 miles from Earth.
Orion passed 79 miles above the lunar surface on Monday when it fired its engines for a “powered flyby burn.”
Apollo 17 brought Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt to the moon 50 years ago this month. In six Apollo flights from 1969 to 1972, 12 NASA astronauts walked on the moon.
Orion’s simulated crew of three mannequins went farther than any “crew-class” spaceship on the 13th day of its mission. It traveled 268,563 miles from Earth, approximately 20,000 miles further than Apollo 13 in 1970, which abandoned its lunar landing after a mechanical breakdown. (PhotoNew / Reuters)
