Greater than half a century after astronauts final left the lunar floor, NASA is getting ready to ship a crew of 4 again to the moon on a fly-by mission that may sling them across the far aspect.
The mission is named Artemis II, and if all goes in line with plan, it might launch as early as subsequent week. When it does, the astronauts will climb aboard NASA’s strongest rocket and start a journey that would take them farther into house than people have ever been earlier than.
Just like the missions that preceded Apollo 11, the primary moon touchdown, Artemis II is a check flight, designed to check whether or not the rocket, life-support techniques and crew controls work as designed.
A brand new period, a well-recognized path
Artemis II is the second mission in NASA’s Artemis program, a collection of more and more bold flights geared toward returning people to the moon for the primary time since 1972. Artemis I, an uncrewed mission, efficiently flew across the moon in 2022. Artemis II will carry astronauts on its lunar fly-by journey.
The strategy intently mirrors NASA’s technique through the Apollo period. Earlier than Apollo 11 landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the lunar floor, earlier Apollo missions examined spacecraft techniques, navigation, and human endurance in deep house. Missions like Apollo 8 despatched astronauts across the moon with out touchdown, proving that the journey itself was attainable.
Artemis II is immediately’s equal.
“Artemis II is sort of a check flight,” 60 Minutes correspondent Invoice Whitaker defined, “designed to have the astronauts really take management of the craft.”
The SLS: NASA’s strongest rocket
Whitaker and the 60 Minutes staff traveled to Kennedy Area Middle to witness the rollout of the Artemis II moon rocket, a four-mile journey from the constructing the place it was assembled to the launch pad.
“It is big,” Whitaker mentioned. “It is an exquisite piece of equipment.”
Atop the Area Launch System (SLS) rocket sits the Orion capsule, wherein astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will experience. Collectively, the SLS and Orion characterize the spine of NASA’s subsequent chapter in human spaceflight.
Across the moon, not onto it — but
After launch, the crew will spend time in low Earth orbit testing Orion’s techniques earlier than heading towards the moon. They’ll loop round it in a large figure-eight trajectory after which return dwelling, by no means touching the floor, much like the Apollo 8 mission.
Nevertheless, the flight path will take them a lot farther from the moon than Apollo astronauts ever traveled. As Artemis commander Reid Wiseman defined, Apollo crews orbited roughly 60 miles above the lunar floor. Artemis II astronauts will cross between 3,000 and 6,000 miles away — far sufficient to see the complete moon in a single view.
Relying on the timing of the launch and the moon’s location in relation to Earth, the astronauts might also change into probably the most distant people from Earth in historical past.
For about 40 minutes on the far aspect of the moon, the crew can be utterly out of contact with Earth.
Science, testing, and awe
This mission is not about planting flags on the lunar floor, however slightly scientific discovery and validation of {hardware} and procedures.
Astronaut Victor Glover mentioned the crew can be busy recording observations and capturing pictures of the moon, contributing to lunar science alongside the way in which.
Requested if there could be time to easily marvel on the view, Wiseman smiled.
“In keeping with our geology staff, no,” he joked. “We’ll be finding out the geology of the moon the complete time, all the way down to the final second. However we’re going to have some human moments, for certain.”
Throughout a latest simulator run, Wiseman recalled seeing Earth rise over the lunar horizon.
“When Earth rose, it stopped us all in our tracks,” he mentioned.
The second echoes some of the iconic photographs in spaceflight historical past: the Earthrise {photograph} captured throughout Apollo 8 in 1968. “Oh, my God,” astronaut Invoice Anders could be heard saying in archival audio. “Take a look at that image over there.”
The dangers have not modified
Whereas expertise has superior, the dangers of spaceflight stay.
“Going into house is harmful,” mentioned Whitaker, who has coated spaceflight for greater than 4 many years. “These astronauts are sitting on high of loads of explosives.”
Whitaker remembers overlaying the Challenger and Columbia disasters, tragic reminders that each mission carries danger.
Glover says that actuality will not be misplaced on the crew.
“Earlier than I leap in a T-38, I say a prayer,” he mentioned. “I say a prayer, and I say, ‘I like you,’ to my spouse and daughters each time.”
When Artemis II disappears behind the moon, Glover hopes humanity will pause and consider the crew throughout these roughly 40 minutes of radio silence.
A steppingstone, not a vacation spot
Simply as Apollo’s early check flights made Apollo 11 attainable, Artemis II is supposed to quietly allow what comes subsequent.
With Artemis III, NASA plans to land astronauts on the moon and ultimately set up a sustained presence there, utilizing it as a gateway to future missions to Mars.
“I hope they overlook all about Artemis II,” Christina Koch mentioned. “We speak about our legacy being enabling the long run missions, all the way in which from Artemis III to Artemis 100 to missions to Mars.”
Jeremy Hansen added, “Watch what’s coming subsequent. It will get fairly extraordinary from right here.”
Images and video courtesy of NASA, Blue Origin and Getty Photographs.
The video above was produced by Brit McCandless Farmer and Scott Rosann. It was edited by Scott Rosann and Nelson Ryland.
