NASA launches humans to moon for first time in half-century
For the first time in more than 50 years, astronauts are going to the Moon.
NASA’s massive Space Launch System rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:35 p.m. Pacific time, marking the beginning of the 10-day Artemis II mission.
In the hours and minutes before launch, while astronauts waited on board, NASA engineers fixed minor problems on the 30-story rocket. First, teams identified a problem with hardware communicating with a system designed to detonate the rocket to protect public safety if the rocket went off course. An incidental temperature reading was then taken on the Launch Abort System, which is designed to pull the crew to safety during such an incident. They eventually resolved a brief telemetry issue with the capsule.
In the end, it was all resolved and the agency moved on.
“On this historic mission, you will take with you the heart of the Artemis team, the courageous spirit of the American people and our partners around the world, and the hopes and dreams of the next generation,” Artemis II launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson told the crew moments before launch. “Good luck. For God’s sake, Artemis II. Let’s go.”
In a few days, the four astronauts on board will make a flyby of the moon; They will not land on the surface and will not enter the moon’s orbit. Instead, the flight was designed as an important stepping stone mission to test the rocket, human life support systems and flight procedures ahead of a lunar landing that NASA hopes to achieve in 2028.
This includes studies of astronauts’ sleep and mental health, as well as how deep space radiation and microgravity affect organs and the immune system. The crew will also practice manually piloting the spacecraft while it is still near Earth.
NASA expects the crew to reach the moon around 10 a.m. Pacific time Monday morning. As astronauts traverse the far side of the moon, NASA expects to temporarily lose communication with the crew, who will focus on documenting and analyzing the rugged lunar surface. At this point, NASA predicts that the crew will break the Apollo 13 crew’s record for the farthest distance traveled by a human from Earth.
The crew will then begin their four-day return. The crew capsule is set to impact the Earth’s atmosphere on April 10 at approximately 30 times the speed of sound, making it the fastest re-entry of a crewed capsule in history. NASA predicts the crew will descend off the coast of San Diego around 5 p.m. Pacific time.
Southern California also has an influence on the mission, made possible by scientists, engineers and support teams from across the country and the world.
Victor Glover, the astronaut who piloted the mission, was once a boy in Pomona Valley, watching the space shuttle launch on television and dreaming of driving it. He cut his teeth as a test pilot in Mojave, attended test pilot school at Edwards Air Force Base and served in a Navy test pilot squadron in China Lake, California.
If the mission is successful, Glover will be the first black person to go to the moon. Along with her will be NASA astronaut Christina Koch, the first female to do so, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, the first non-American to do so. Not to be outdone by his crewmates, mission commander Reid Wiseman, 50, will be the oldest person to do so.
NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base also conducts mission-critical research and testing. In the 2010s, they supported two tests of the rocket’s Launch Abort System (designed to accelerate from 0 to 500 mph in just two seconds and literally navigate the debris of an exploding rocket). (After the crew had safely escaped through most of Earth’s atmosphere, the rocket disabled its abort system.)
During reentry, the center will participate in a high-speed flyby of military and civilian aircraft to track the capsule and measure how the heat shield is performing with high-tech telescopes and sensors. Artemis II is testing a new reentry orbit after an uncrewed test mission in 2022 caused unexpected damage to its heat shield.
Finally, once the capsule lands safely off the coast of San Diego, NASA and U.S. Navy divers will secure the capsule, with medical personnel from both on standby. A Navy ship will then bring the capsule back to Naval Base San Diego, just next to downtown.
The Artemis program aims to eventually send humans back to the moon, help the space agency establish a moon base, and serve as a testing ground for future missions to Mars.
NASA plans to launch Artemis III, a mission in Earth orbit, in 2027 to test the docking of NASA spacecraft with SpaceX and Blue Origin’s lunar landers. It aims to launch Artemis IV, which will place people on the surface of the moon, in 2028.
“Artemis II is the opening act,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said shortly before launch. “We are now entering the golden age of science and discovery.”
