Artemis II crew back on Earth in perfect finale to NASA mission

UPDATE

For the first time in more than half a century, a manned NASA mission has seen four heroic astronauts safely rocket to the moon and back. The historic Artemis II journey is the furthest humanity has ever travelled.

A stunning, ”bullseye” splashdown off the Pacific coast of California, USA, was beamed live and right on schedule just after 7:07.27pm Friday 10 April central time (just after 10am on Saturday 11 April AEST).

The crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean following a 10-day journey that has captivated the world.

Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen were in a space capsule they dubbed “Integrity” that hurtled back toward Earth at speeds of up to 40,000km at temperatures as high as 1650C – an experience Mr Glover described as “riding a fireball through the atmosphere”.

NASA worked to reinforce the capsule’s heat shield after the uncrewed Artemis I spacecraft suffered damage from the extreme heat upon entry in December 2022.

The US Navy was onsite at splashdown for the process of retrieving the crew and their spacecraft. All four astronauts were reportedly in great shape and exited Integrity less than two hours after their historic return in thrilling scenes.

Safely aboard the USS Murtha, the four no doubt jubilant astronauts were due to undergo medical evaluation and were expected to return to NASA’S Johnson Space Centre in Texas within 24 hours.

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ARTEMIS II CREW VIEWS SOLAR ECLIPSE

More than halfway into their 10 day journey around the moon, astronauts on board NASA’s Artemis 2 mission have already achieved some amazing feats.

The intrepid explorers watched a solar eclipse*, have glimpsed the Moon’s “Grand Canyon” for the first time with “human eyes” as well as named two previously unnamed craters. They have also now broken the record for the farthest distance humans have ever travelled from Earth.

“The Moon is lit up,” one of the crew members said of the solar eclipse. They described it as “quite a wicked view”, saying the experience was “absolutely surreal* and spectacular”.

They said they could see lots of stars, planets including Saturn and Mars, and lunar impact flashes, which are high-intensity flares of light produced when meteoroids or small asteroids, ranging from sand-grain to boulder size, collide with the Moon’s surface.

As the four astronauts began their fifth day of the historic lunar fly-by mission, the US space agency shared a photo on social media showing the Moon with the Orientale basin visible.

“In this new image from our @NASAArtemis II crew, you can see Orientale basin on the right edge of the lunar disk. This mission marks the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes,” NASA wrote.

The massive crater is often referred to as the Moon’s “Grand Canyon” and resembles a bullseye. It had previously been photographed before by orbiting cameras.

During their pass-by of the moon, the astronauts also requested permission to name two craters.

In an emotional moment, astronaut Jeremy Hansen asked mission control that the first crater be named the Integrity crater, the same name they gave their Orion spaceship, and the second crater be named “Carroll”, in honour of Commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife Carroll who died of cancer in 2020.

“The second one is especially meaningful for this crew – a number of years ago we started this journey in our close knit astronaut family and we lost a loved one,” Mr Hansen said.

“It’s a bright spot on the moon, and we would like to call it Carroll.”

Over a seven hour period that began just before 5am AEST on Tuesday, the crew took turns making observations of the lunar surface.

The crew surpassed* the distance record previously set by the Apollo 13 mission in 1970 which took humans 400,171km from the earth.

The Orion crew, on the spacecraft they named Integrity, will travel 406,777km from Earth, surpassing the previous record by more than 6,600km.

As they broke the record, mission control told them the 55-year record had just fallen.

“For all humanity, you’re pushing beyond that frontier,” they were told.

Commander Mr Wiseman said the mission was “honouring the extraordinary efforts and feats of our predecessors* in human space exploration”.

ASTRONAUTS BLAST OFF TO THE MOON

We have lift off!

NASA has successfully launched the Artemis* II mission, which aims to send four astronauts on an 800,000km journey around the moon on the furthest manned space flight in history.

The Orion spacecraft lifted off atop the Space Launch System rocket – the most powerful booster in the world — on Thursday morning Australian time.

Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the Florida coast in the US to witness the historic launch of Artemis II.

Spectators held their breath as engineers worked to fix an issue with a flight termination system and a launch abort system battery before takeoff commenced.

The launch was eventually given the go-ahead and Artemis II blasted off successfully.

The four astronauts on-board have since passed the Karman line – the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and space – and are now in orbit* around the Earth.

The Orion will spend two days orbiting Earth testing its systems before heading for the moon.

Orion will then perform a trans-lunar injection burn*, a propulsion* move to push the spacecraft on its four-day trip to the far side of the moon – a one-way trek of about 400,000km.

The spacecraft will travel about 7,400km around the far side of the moon, with the journey marking the first time much of the surface has been viewed by human eyes. According to NASA, the moon will appear about the same size as a baseball held at arm’s length.

Throughout the trip, the astronauts will test the spacecraft’s systems, conduct experiments and test emergency procedures including the radiation* shelter.

Once the spacecraft has rounded the moon, it will get a free ride home thanks to the natural pull of Earth’s gravity.

The Orion will splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the Californian coast near San Diego where the craft and crew will be recovered by the United States Navy.

The 10-day space voyage will become the first crewed mission to travel beyond low-Earth orbit since the end of the Apollo era in 1972 – a historic milestone* in the journey to establish a long-term human presence on the moon.

“Fifty-three years ago, humanity left the moon and did not return – now, we go back,” NASA’s deputy administrator Amit Kshatriya said.

Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen woke at 9.25am local time before spending time with their families, attending a final briefing, playing a game of cards – a tradition for astronauts pre-launch – and donning* their orange space suits.

US President Donald Trump wished the mission well in a post on social media, writing “God bless our incredible astronauts”.

“For the first time in over 50 years, America is going back to the moon! Artemis II, among the most powerful rockets ever built, is launching our brave astronauts farther into deep space than any human has EVER gone,” the US President wrote.

THE SPACE RACE HEATS UP

The US has announced plans to build a $20 billion moon base and place a nuclear power reactor* on the lunar surface by 2030.

Last week, NASA announced it would scrap plans to build a space station in lunar orbit in favour of building a sustained human presence on the moon.

“NASA is committed to achieving the near‑impossible once again, to return to the moon before the end of President Trump’s term, build a moon base, establish an enduring presence, and do the other things needed to ensure American leadership in space,” NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said.

The Artemis program’s first flight in December 2022 was a test flight for the launch system and Orion spacecraft ahead of the crewed Artemis II flight scheduled for this week.

NASA had originally planned for Artemis III to launch next year and land on the moon but under a revised plan, that flight will now test docking capabilities between the Orion and commercial spacecraft.

Artemis IV, planned for early 2028, will then aim to land two crew members on the moon’s surface where they will spend one week conducting scientific experiments.

NASA will then target moon landings every six months.

“This revised, step-by-step approach to learn, to build muscle memory*, to bring down risk and gain confidence is exactly how NASA achieved the near impossible in the 1960s,” Mr Isaacman said, in reference to the Apollo program that first landed man on the moon.

“But this time, the goal is not flags and footprints. This time, the goal is to stay.

“America will never again give up the moon.”

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GLOSSARY

solar eclipse: when the moon passes in front of the sun, blocking the view of the sun except for the light of the corona, which is the sun’s atmosphere

surreal: as if not quite real, like from a dream

surpassed: went further than

predecessors: the astronauts that came before them

Artemis: in Ancient Greek mythology the goddess of the hunt and the moon, twin sister to Apollo and known as Diana in Ancient Rome

orbit: the curved path in space that is followed by an object going round and round a planet, moon, or star

trans-lunar injection (TLI) burn: the TLI burn is a special, five-minute-plus rocket engine firing that acts as the “big push” to send a spacecraft out of Earth’s orbit and on a direct path toward the moon

propulsion: a force that pushes something forward

radiation: a form of energy that comes from a nuclear reaction and that can be very dangerous to health

milestone: an important event in the development or history of something or in someone’s life

donning: the act of putting on clothing, garments or equipment

nuclear power reactor: a large machine that uses nuclear fuel to produce power

muscle memory: ability to repeat a specific muscular movement with improved efficiency and accuracy that is acquired through practice and repetition

EXTRA READING

Astronauts journey to next frontier

NASA tests moon suits for 2024 Artemis mission

Earth’s problem with space junk

QUICK QUIZ

What is the official name of the landmark often referred to as the Moon’s Grand Canyon?

The US has announced a $20 billion investment in space – what will be included in the project?

In what year did the last humans travel beyond low-Earth orbit as part of what mission series?

How many kilometres will the Artemis 2 astronauts travel?

What is the Karman line?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES 1

1. Artemis mission

“For all humanity, you’re pushing beyond that frontier” was what NASA mission control told the Artemis 2 crew.

What do you believe might be the major scientific discoveries to come out of this 10 day orbit around the moon?

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Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity

Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension

If you had the opportunity to name the crater that is “like a bright spot on the moon”, what would you request to name it and why?

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity

Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES 2

1. What can we learn?

What do you think astronauts of the future will explore or study on the moon long after this Artemis II mission? Write a list. Next to each item, explain why you think that this is important.

Time: allow at least 15 minutes to complete this activity

Curriculum Links: English, Science

2. Extension

“Who cares about outer space? These missions are a waste of money!” Write down what you would say to change this person’s opinion about space exploration. Include as many details as you can.

Time: allow at least 20 minutes to complete this activity

Curriculum Links English, Science

VCOP ACTIVITY

Acrostic poem

Think of a word that you associate with space travel (astronauts, frontier, mission, spacecraft, capsule) and create an acrostic poem to share about the Artemis II mission. Try and include varied words throughout your poem to maintain the interest of the reader.