Dark Side of the Moon

Artemis II astronauts have ventured farther into the final frontier than anyone in history… and have the pics to prove it.

On Monday, the lunar crew reached 252,760 miles from the third rock from the sun—breaking Apollo 13’s 1970 record for farthest rocket trip—as they successfully circumnavigated the moon. Integrity spent seven hours circling the Big Cheese (and expectedly lost contact with mission control for ~40 minutes).

After waking up to Mandisa and TobyMac’s “Good Morning,” the crew—the first to lay eyes on the entire far side of the moon—captured photos of never-before-seen features of the lunar surface (see out-of-this-world pics). One new discovery, Carroll’s Crater, was affectionately named after Commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife (see the emotional moment). 

Now, Artemis is earthbound; the crew’s expected to splash down off the coast of San Diego Friday evening.

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
No matter our perspective on space travel, the thought of soaring in a rocket over 250,000 miles from earth is sure to make us feel small. Thankfully, we worship the God who created even the farthest corners of the universe, reigns over all of it, and will one day make it new. 

“For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things hold together… For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” 
Colossians 1:16-17, 19-20 (CSB) (read full passage)

Want to queue up some intragalactic encouragement? 55 years ago, Charlie Duke walked on the moon. Listen to him and his wife, Dotty, share their testimony of faith that followed in this podcast.