Astronomers at the Astronomical Institute are monitoring the Orion module of the ARTEMIS program.

Artemis II is part of the broader program of the American Space Agency (NASA) to return humans to the Moon, Earth’s natural satellite. The mission was launched on April 1, 2026, by a rocket over 98 meters tall—a true space cathedral.

Artemis II is the first stage of the ARTEMIS program in which a human crew tests the journey to the Moon as part of this new NASA lunar program. Artemis II will not land on the Moon but will perform a lunar flyby maneuver. The crew will follow a trajectory between Earth and the Moon for 10 days.

During this period, the Orion module, carried by the Artemis II mission, with its four astronauts (one woman and three men), will fly around the Moon and observe the side of the satellite that is not visible from Earth. Europe, through the European Space Agency, is a partner in the construction and development of the Orion module.

Artemis II is part of the Artemis program, conducting a critical test for communications, tracking, and verification of the space transportation system.

The Astronomical Institute of the Romanian Academy has set as its objective the detection and monitoring of the Orion module using telescopes in the visible spectral range. Observations obtained with the telescopes at the Berthelot Observatory (IAU code L54) on April 6 and 7, 2026, made it possible to identify the object among the stars and measure its position.

The observations were carried out under unfavorable conditions due to the proximity of the Orion module to the Moon, and the light reflected by Earth’s natural satellite makes it difficult to observe such a small object as the Orion module. In the images, the Orion module appears as a bright point moving among the stars.

Published on: Apr 07, 2026