NASA’s Artemis II: A Historic Mission to the Moon Set for 2025 with Four Astronauts at the Helm

2024-07-27 11:52:09

In the upcoming Artemis II mission, scheduled for launch in September 2025, four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft will embark on a ten-day journey around the Moon, becoming the first humans to explore our celestial neighbor at a relatively close distance in over 50 years. Through Reddit, NASA astronauts answered a series of user questions about the space mission they will undertake next year. Check out their responses here.

Artemis II will be the first mission to take astronauts around the Moon in over 50 years. The last time this occurred was on December 19, 1972, with the landing of Apollo 17’s spacecraft. This 10-day flight will be the first test with humans aboard the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System rocket, which will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Artemis II will not land on the Moon’s surface, but it will serve as a precursor to Artemis III, the mission that intends to send astronauts to the Moon’s south pole for the first time, which has been postponed from 2025 to 2026. It will also lay the groundwork for future missions that will establish a long-term presence on the Moon for exploration and scientific discovery.

The crew members are: commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover; mission specialist 1, Christina Hammock Koch; and Canadian Space Agency astronaut and mission specialist 2, Jeremy Hansen. They will work as a team to execute an ambitious set of demonstrations during this flight test.

In the aforementioned Reddit forum, the astronauts indicated that their lunar training program includes recovery procedures on a test spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean, and flights aboard T-38 aircraft to simulate the g-forces (also known as gravity) they will experience during launch and landing.

As of now, they stated that they have made significant progress in their preparation since last summer, but there are still challenges they must overcome in the coming year before embarking on the journey to the Moon.

To prepare for the final and decisive flight, astronaut Reid Wiseman explained that the comprehensive training the crew receives ensures total readiness for normal operations, emergency procedures, and basic knowledge of the vehicle’s hardware. However, he acknowledged that “nothing prepares you for approaching a fully fueled rocket and taking the elevator up to 274 feet to board.”

To try to emulate these extreme gravitational conditions, the crew has been conducting flight tests in a T-38, a high-altitude twin-engine supersonic trainer used for various functions due to its design, ease of maintenance, high performance, and exceptional safety record.

The astronaut stated that, during the tests, this aircraft creates a feeling of making crucial decisions at high speed, albeit within a trusted environment with the crew and mission control.

“I found that when I boarded the Soyuz for my first launch, after they strapped me into the seat, I calmed down quite a bit and everything became clearer in my mind. It’s very similar to the start of a high-stakes game: nerves during the first few minutes and then total concentration,” Wiseman explained.

When asked about the level of involvement of astronauts in the design and construction of the spacecraft, Jeremy Hansen replied that, like all training for a “first-of-its-kind” mission, they continue learning how the systems operate, while deliberating on how they will manage them during the mission.

Thus, he indicated that the crew receives formally defined training lessons, but they also dedicate a large part of their time to supporting tests with “humans in the loop” and other engineering discussions, as they are the individuals who will ultimately operate the spacecraft.

A prolonged visit to our celestial neighbor

The Orion cabin has a habitable volume of nine cubic meters (330 cubic feet), providing the crew with nearly the same living space as two minivans. After launch aboard NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), the crew will stow Koch and Hansen’s seats until the return day, giving them more space to move around during the flight.

Wiseman and Glover’s seatbacks, as commander and pilot respectively, will remain in place, but their footrests will be stowed. Orion has nearly 60 percent more space than the Apollo command module’s six cubic meters (210 cubic feet).

In light of these travel conditions, a user asked what measures the crew will take to avoid conflicts and ensure their coexistence during the ten-day mission. In this regard, Reid Wiseman stated that crew members must share a lot of time together to get to know each other better and learn to constructively give feedback. “We also conduct specific training with NASA behavioral health specialists, as well as expedition behavior training with the National Outdoor Leadership School,” he added.

According to the astronaut, these strategies create a solid foundation for the crew to understand each other, recognize moments of leadership and followership, and provide each other with the necessary tools for success. “While things can always turn out differently than we expect, when we start this mission, we are as well prepared as we can be,” he stated.

Another user evoked the famous photo ‘Earthrise’, captured by astronaut William Anders in December 1968 during NASA’s Apollo 8 mission. Given that the Artemis II crew will be in a similar position during their orbit around the Moon, this user asked them if they plan to take a similar photograph and whether being so far from Earth will have any emotional impact on the crew members.

“We have that photo on a desk in our office, and we added the script of that photo so we can read what Lovell, Anders, and Borman were saying at the moment Bill took that iconic picture,” Wiseman replied. “It turns out they were completely amazed by the beauty of that moment… they were looking for the right roll of film, losing sight out of the windows and waiting for it to appear in different windows.”

The American astronaut added that, during a trip to the International Space Station, he took over 300,000 photographs of Earth with his crew members, who were captivated by the majesty of our blue planet viewed from space. “So, will we take a photograph of the Earth’s sunrise? Of course! But it won’t be something planned in advance; it will be spontaneous and will try to capture the emotion of looking through the Moon towards Earth,” the astronaut explained.

On the other hand, during the 45 minutes they will spend without communication with mission control, Wiseman assured that the crew wants to stay together and experience the ineffable sensation of solitude as the four humans in the most distant place from Earth, far from all human civilization. “We are not planning any speeches, readings, etc., in advance. We want to share pure emotion,” he revealed.

When asked about the implications of being the only engineer on the team, Christina Hammock clarified that all crew members are highly trained professionals with long experience, so there was no substantial difference in the distribution of tasks. She also emphasized that one of the fundamental principles of the mission is training for all aspects of the mission, so that crew members can cover for one another and contribute to the mission’s development from their different perspectives.

“One way this has come into play is that I have conducted some deeper dives into technical issues and interests both with the vehicle and with the feasibility coding of software support for some mission tasks,” Hammock explained.

According to NASA, Artemis is a long-term exploration campaign to conduct scientific activities on the Moon with astronauts and prepare for future crewed missions to Mars. When asked about the significance of this first crewed mission of the Orion program in achieving the ultimate goal, Jeremy Hansen indicated that each Artemis mission is designed to advance towards a permanent human presence on the Moon.

“One of our goals, both in training and in the mission itself, is to understand everything possible related to SLS and Orion, so that future missions can focus on the next pieces of the puzzle,” the astronaut detailed. “One of the things I admire about the Artemis II crew is that every time they give their opinion about living and working in Orion, they think about what will make more sense for their colleagues on the next mission, rather than just thinking about what is best or easiest for the Artemis II mission.”

From a failure in a sensor to a major emergency like a cabin fire or air leak, accidents or emergencies that may occur during the mission, as well as contingency plans to address them, were some of the most discussed topics in the Reddit forum.

In this regard, Jacki Mahaffey, Artemis II training director, explained that team members (astronauts, mission control, and engineering support) begin by reviewing basic responses with the crew and then gather in simulations to practice various combinations of problems, with the goal of working effectively as a team to address them.

Mental preparation

On January 9, 2024, in a teleconference, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced that the crewed flight of the Artemis II mission would be delayed until 2025 and Artemis III until September 2026, stating that the safety of the crew is their “top priority” and that they needed “more time” to be prepared.

“I want to announce that we are adjusting our schedule to send Artemis II in September 2025, and for September 2026 to Artemis III,” Nelson explained. “We will not fly until we are ready. Safety is paramount.”

In this context, a user asked the team how they are preparing for potential delays and how such eventualities would affect them logistically and emotionally. In response, astronaut Victor Glover emphasized that each space mission represents a significant challenge, especially if it involves a new spacecraft with advanced features like the Orion capsule. He also recalled that his first space mission had several delays, providing context for understanding his current reality.

“I call it the frustration of exploration. Those ideas help make it less emotional,” Glover explained. “In reality, I would turn the situation around and say that I don’t have to prepare emotionally for delays. I don’t think about launch dates until I enter quarantine, when the rocket is on the launch pad,” he asserted.

Regarding the mental preparation of the team for traveling beyond low Earth orbit after more than 50 years, Jeremy Hansen underscored that, in his case, this aspect has been a lifelong learning process.

“In short, I’ve developed a strategy for dealing with risky and undesirable situations by doing three things: recognizing the emotions that we inevitably experience as humans, accepting the situation as it is, and then committing to creating a solution to overcome it,” he explained. “Undesirable situations are a common human experience, whether in space or on Earth, in operational or everyday life; for me, the key is to change the mindset of those emotions to focus my energy on creating the solution.”

Technological advances of the mission

The powerful Space Launch System (SLS), NASA’s Orion spacecraft, the lunar orbit Gateway, and the human landing system are the backbone of the agency for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. With a payload capacity of over 27 metric tons (59,000 pounds), SLS is the only launch vehicle capable of sending Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

The first stage of the SLS rocket, developed by NASA since 2011, arrived this week at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it will be integrated with the Orion capsule. When asked about the technological advancements of the rocket and spacecraft, Reid Wiseman explained that the 65-meter and 85-ton rocket is very similar to the external tank and the propulsion group of the shuttle, but upon delving into its internal structure, it is significantly modernized with avionics, failure tolerance, navigation systems, more power, new engine controllers, etc.

“Orion has a classic shape, but inside it is a highly fault-tolerant deep space exploration vehicle that has some nice elements for crew comfort, like a small bathroom and exercise equipment, but what I love is the automation that still allows the crew to have control over the automation if necessary,” Wiseman detailed.

But how does this innovative internal structure design aid lunar exploration? “Once we have the exploration upper stage on Artemis IV, we will have a large ascent mass coupled to a very fault-tolerant system, which means a successful mission for Gateway and the lunar south pole exploration,” the astronaut explained.

Precautions for returning home

Have you ever felt dizzy when getting up from bed or the chair? Beware! It could be orthostatic hypotension, a form of low blood pressure that occurs when a person stands up quickly after sitting or lying down, because blood concentrates in the feet, away from the brain. This can cause dizziness, lightheadedness, and even fainting, which is extremely dangerous for an astronaut, who needs to remain in a low-gravity environment for an extended period.

Indeed, according to research published in the journal ‘Circulation’ by the American Heart Association, one of the major issues since the beginning of the human space program has been that astronauts suddenly faint when returning to Earth.

To prevent or stop orthostatic hypotension upon returning to Earth, Christina Koch specified that astronauts use a garment designed for orthostatic intolerance, which is designed to comfortably cover the lower body with slight constriction. This helps maintain significant blood flow to the upper body and head, preventing it from directing to the lower body when we first face gravity in the standing position.

“This is important because the body initially loses water when entering microgravity, so the overall blood volume is reduced when we initially return to Earth,” Koch said.

Posted: 07/25/2024