Top 3 findings from the Artemis II mission and what’s next
Canadian space agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, along with NASA astronauts Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, have arrived home safely after an incredible and historic trip around the Moon.
The group set a record for the most distance traveled by any human being at 406,771 kilometers, breaking Apollo 13’s record of 400,171 kilometers set in 1970.
While their journey looked like fun during the many news conferences and videos we watched, the four scientists were hard at work with observations, medical experiments, and exercise.
It is important to remember that this was a test mission. Artemis II was the first time astronauts tested the Orion spacecraft and its capabilities. Some highlights of this historic mission are as follows.
toilet issues
Everyone poops. But in space, in zero gravity, where everything floats, defecating is a bit difficult.
Unfortunately, the new toilet – sorry, Universal Waste Management System – there were some hiccups.
Within an hour of takeoff, Koch reported back to mission control in Houston that there was a problem. It took a few hours to fix it – the coach essentially reprogrammed the toilet – and everything was fine.
“I’m proud to call myself a space plumber,” Koch later told the media. “I like to say it’s probably the most important piece of equipment on board.”
However, problems persisted. It seemed as if the lines sucking urine were freezing in the vacuum of space. They rotated the Orion capsule so that sunlight could heat the lines and they would exit. It worked a little, but not completely.
Although they could defecate, urine was a problem, as they could not flush it into space. Instead, they had to use their backups.
While this may seem like a silly or minor snag, NASA will have to re-examine the toilet for the next missions, especially if it plans to go to Mars, which will last for months.
very emotional moment
One of the most emotional moments on this mission was a little unexpected.
During a call to Mission Control, Hansen announced that the crew wanted to name some craters.
The first capsule he named “Integrity” after his capsule.
But then, Hansen announced they wanted to take another name, “Carol”, in tribute to Wiseman’s wife, who died of cancer in 2020.
Moments after Apollo 13 broke the distance record, the Artemis II astronauts asked to name two relatively fresh lunar craters, proposing Integrity – the name of their Orion capsule – and Carroll, in honor of Commander Reed Wiseman’s late wife. When Canadian mission specialist Jeremy Hansen requested mission control, Wiseman cried and all four astronauts embraced.
His voice broke as he announced the news, while the coach wiped away tears. While Hansen was talking, Wiseman tried to console him. At the end, all four shared a long embrace.
Henson later explained that he, Koch, and Glover had talked before doing so. Then they approached Wiseman and told him. Wiseman was impressed, but said he could not announce it himself. So, Hansen said he would do that honor.
It was a reminder that this mission was also about humanity.
Science!
There was a lot of science going on during this mission. There were health experiments – some started even before launch – as well as testing of the spacecraft.
Undoubtedly, the highlight was the flight to the Moon which took place on Monday. At their closest, the astronauts were 6,545 kilometers from the Moon’s surface.
They had 30 lunar targets that they had to observe for seven hours.
They used cameras as well as their eyes and sent detailed reports to the science team at Mission Control.
He described what the reflective characteristics were like, as well the color they can see across the surface of the Moon.
But one highlight came as a pleasant surprise.
Astronauts observed meteorites – small pieces of rock left over from the formation of our solar system – hitting the moon’s surface.
“A little detour,” Glover reported to mission control. “We’ve seen three impressive flashes so far. I saw two, and Jeremy saw one. Of course…oh, Jeremy saw two. So that’s a total of four.”
The reaction from Kelsey Young, NASA’s Artemis II lunar science lead, was pure joy.
“Surprising news,” she said. “I literally just looked over at SER (Science Assessment Room), and they were jumping up and down.”
On Earth, most meteors burn up in our atmosphere, leaving brief streaks in the sky. But there is almost no atmosphere on the Moon, so these meteorites reach the ground. That’s why there are so many craters on the Moon.
The Apollo astronauts thought they saw these impact flashes, but this was never confirmed. That’s probably why Young was so excited.
what is to come
So, they are at home. what now?
Well, once they go back to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, they will be examined and briefed by doctors.
And over the next few months, and perhaps years, scientists will analyze the group’s experiments. They will also examine how the Orion spacecraft performed, finding out what worked and what didn’t.
And NASA is already ready for Artemis III, which is scheduled to launch in 2027. Initially, the mission was to return humans to the Moon. But NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced in February that it would be a test with a lunar lander provided by Blue Origin or SpaceX. It will orbit the Earth and will not go to the Moon.
Artemis IV, which will return humans to the lunar surface, is not scheduled before 2028.
