Artemis II astronauts describe their lunar voyage as surreal and profound ahead of Earth return
HOUSTON (AP) — Moving closer to Earth Artemis II astronauts gathered the moon cruisers for the upcoming “fireball” return and historic journeys around the moonhe describes it as surreal and profound.
As the next and last day of their flight dawned on Thursday, humanity’s first lunar explorers for over half a century He was less than 150,000 miles (240,000 kilometers) from home when the odometer ticked.
“We need to go back. There’s a lot of data that you’ve already seen, but all the good things are coming back with us. There are a lot more pictures, a lot more stories,” said pilot Victor Glover, adding: “Riding a fireball in the atmosphere is also very impressive.”
According to Commander Reid Wiseman, it was particularly “surreal” to be cut off from all humanity for almost an hour while behind the moon.
“Our brains have a lot to process … and this is a real gift,” Wiseman said late Wednesday at the crew’s first news conference since liftoff.
Wiseman, Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen became the furthest humans ever on Monday, traveling a record distance of 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth before returning, while out of touch behind the moon. When they emerged from behind the moon, they experienced a wonderful total solar eclipse due to the orb blocking the sun from their perspective.
The April 1 launch from Florida reduced the amount of illumination on the far side of the Moon, but the eclipse was a consolation prize and “one of the greatest gifts,” Glover noted.
Friday’s re-entry and splash into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego (as dynamic and dangerous as takeoff) were now on everyone’s mind. The rescue ship USS John P. Murtha was already at sea, with a fleet of military aircraft and helicopters ready to join the operation.
NASA and the Department of Defense are teaming up for a crew reentry to the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972. The Orion capsules will come screaming back, hitting the atmosphere at 34,965 feet (10,657 meters) per second, or 23,840 miles (38,367 km/h)—not a record, but still mind-blowing.
Mission Control will pay close attention to how the capsule’s heat shield holds up. During the only other uncrewed Orion test flight to the moon in 2022, the heat shield suffered much more damage than expected from 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius) reentry.
Instead of replacing Artemis II’s heat shield, which would have caused a lengthy delay, NASA adjusted the capsule’s atmospheric descent to reduce exposure to extreme temperatures. Next year’s Artemis III and beyond will fly with redesigned heat shields.
Artemis III will allow astronauts to practice docking their capsules with one or two lunar landers in orbit around Earth. Artemis IV will attempt to land two astronauts near the moon’s south pole in 2028, setting the stage for what NASA hopes will be a sustainable lunar base.
NASA officials refrain from providing risk assessment figures for the roughly 10-day mission and acknowledge that the biggest threats are launch and entry.
“We’re at the end point now,” said NASA’s Lakiesha Hawkins. “We have reached the end of the mission, and getting the crew back home and ensuring their safe disembarkation remains a significant part of the risk ahead.”
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