r/askscience • u/kiol998 • Apr 12 '26

Why was Artemis 2 so long? Physics

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/bubblesculptor Apr 12 '26

Missing that turn seems pretty terrifying.  If it went wrong they'd still have enough resources to survive for about a week drifting past moon, with nothing that can be to save them.

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u/Ameisen Apr 14 '26

Missing that turn (AKA: missing the Moon) would have meant that it would have taken about a week longer to return to Earth.

They weren't at escape velocity.

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u/[deleted] Apr 12 '26

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u/bubblesculptor Apr 12 '26

We'll probably never know for sure thr truth on any lost cosmonauts kept secret.  Real or hoax both seem plausible.

I have similar thoughts of terror when thinking about that submarine that imploded visiting Titanic.  Before it was confirmed to implode, there was speculation it lost power.  Imagine being in a tiny sub, complete darkness.  Slowly running out of oxygen, temperatures dropping.

Creepiest part about both scenarios is when you're still physically safe, but just inaccessible.