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'Not the moon that I'm used to seeing': Artemis II astronauts describe seeing the far side

Nbcwashington · · 999 words · By Tom Costello; Denise Chow; NBC News
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/artemis-ii-astronauts-…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

18 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 8
help Insufficient Evidence 6
verified Verified By Reference 4
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“The Artemis II astronauts are now more than halfway to the moon and have caught their first glimpses of the lunar far side.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia entries to confirm the Artemis II astronauts' progress or observation of the lunar far side.
verified
“NASA astronaut Christina Koch described seeing the moon out the window of the Orion capsule and realizing that it looked different from what she was accustomed to on Earth.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While Wikipedia entries confirm Artemis II's mission and crew, none specifically mention Christina Koch's observations of the moon's appearance from Orion.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Artemis II is an ongoing United States spaceflight mission sending four astronauts on a flyby around the Moon. It launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 1, 2026. The ten-day mission is crewed by …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_II
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Artemis program is a Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), formally established in 2017 through Space Policy Directive 1. By 2028…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_program
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used in NASA's Artemis program. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module (CM) space capsule designed by Lockheed M…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(spacecraft)
help
“Koch said that she and her crewmates compared their views to their study materials to understand what they were seeing.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia entries to confirm astronauts compared observations to study materials.
verified
“Wiseman, Koch, Glover and Hansen launched Wednesday on a 10-day trip around the moon, becoming the first people to embark on a lunar mission in more than 50 years.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms Artemis II launched on April 1, 2026, with a 10-day mission, marking the first human lunar mission since Apollo (over 50 years prior).
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Artemis I, formerly Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), was an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission that launched on November 16, 2022. As the first major spaceflight of NASA's Artemis program, Artemis I marked t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_I
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Artemis II is an ongoing United States spaceflight mission sending four astronauts on a flyby around the Moon. It launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 1, 2026. The ten-day mission is crewed by …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_II
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Artemis program is a Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), formally established in 2017 through Space Policy Directive 1. By 2028…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_program
verified
“They have been officially moon-bound since Thursday evening, when the spacecraft conducted a key engine burn that boosted the capsule out of Earth’s orbit.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
No specific evidence confirms the date or timing of the engine burn mentioned in the claim.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 2026 (MMXXVI) is the current year, and is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2026th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 26th year of the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Artemis program is a Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), formally established in 2017 through Space Policy Directive 1. By 2028…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_program
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used in NASA's Artemis program. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module (CM) space capsule designed by Lockheed M…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(spacecraft)
verified
“The astronauts were also the first humans to lift off aboard NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms Artemis II is the first crewed mission using NASA's SLS and Orion spacecraft, following the uncrewed Artemis I.
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“The Orion capsule has a habitable volume roughly equivalent to a camper van.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found to confirm the habitable volume comparison to a camper van.
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“The astronauts tested life-support systems aboard the Orion capsule shortly after launch.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found to confirm testing of life-support systems during the mission.
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“The astronauts encountered and resolved issues such as email glitches and problems with the onboard space toilet.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found to confirm reports of technical issues (email, toilet) during the mission.
help
“The Artemis II astronauts are expected to enter the moon’s sphere of influence at 12:41 a.m. ET on Monday.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found to confirm the specific timing of entering the moon's sphere of influence.
schedule
“The official lunar flyby period for Artemis II begins at 2:45 p.m. ET and lasts six hours.”
PENDING
schedule
“The Artemis II crew will reach a maximum distance of 252,757 miles from Earth, surpassing the Apollo 13 record by approximately 4,100 miles.”
PENDING
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“The Artemis II astronauts will come as close as 4,600 miles to the lunar surface during their mission.”
PENDING
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“From the Orion capsule, the moon will appear approximately the size of a basketball held at arm’s length.”
PENDING
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“The Artemis II crew will observe and photograph lunar features such as craters, ridges, and ancient lava flows to aid scientific understanding of the moon’s and solar system’s formation.”
PENDING
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“The Artemis II astronauts will observe a solar eclipse from space starting at 8:35 p.m. ET, lasting nearly an hour.”
PENDING
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“During the solar eclipse, the Artemis II crew will observe the sun’s corona and look for flashes of light from objects impacting the moon.”
PENDING
schedule
“The Artemis II mission is expected to conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego at approximately 8 p.m. ET on Friday.”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.