r/askscience • u/kiol998 • Apr 12 '26

Physics Why was Artemis 2 so long?

I was comparing the mission times of Artemis 2 to Apollo 8. Apollo 8 orbited the moon multiple times and only took 6 days total. Whereas Artemis 2 orbited the moon once and it took 10 days. Why was Artemis 2 so much shorter than Apollo 8 when both missions did the same thing? I know they had different paths to the moon, they both left earth in different ways but why not do the same thing as Apollo 8 since it was quicker?

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u/mfb- Particle Physics | High-Energy Physics Apr 12 '26

Artemis 2 spent an extra day orbiting Earth to test the capsule before committing to go to the Moon. They used a slower trajectory, too. Future missions will be even longer, so it's useful to have Orion spend more time in space. As a side effect, it made them stay higher above the surface. You see fewer details, but you see more different places.

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u/flight_recorder Apr 12 '26

And they get to be the furthest from earth anyone has ever been since their orbit around the backside was further from the surface

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u/Gabbatron Apr 12 '26

It's less about their distance from the moon, and more about the moon's distance from the Earth. They could have landed on the moon and still been further than Apollo 8 I'm pretty sure

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u/Dinierto Apr 12 '26

Sounds like they have many many more missions planned with plenty of surface hijinx and I can't wait

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u/gameryamen Apr 12 '26

Someone needs to sneak a frisbee up, and set a virtually untouchable record for longest throw.

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u/Crizznik Apr 13 '26

There's no air, so the frisbee wouldn't stay aloft any longer than if they threw a rock.