After numerous delays, NASA is finally ready to launch the long-awaited Artemis II mission that will return humans to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
Artemis II’s crew includes commander Reed Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, NASA mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, who were first selected for the 2023 mission.
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In addition to helping prepare for a return to the lunar surface and the eventual construction of a lunar base, each member of the crew will break multiple records both collectively and individually.
Here are the six most important achievements they achieve.
1. First black astronaut to visit the moon
During his upcoming mission, Glover will make history as the first black astronaut to visit the lunar environment and the first black astronaut to venture beyond low Earth orbit (LEO).
The 49-year-old former fighter pilot spent 168 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS) from November 2020 to May 2021, becoming the first black astronaut to visit the station. On this trip, he also made history as the first person to fly SpaceX’s Dragon crew capsule, which was used to transport astronauts to the ISS for the first time.
During Artemis II, Glover will also become the first person to fly NASA’s Orion spacecraft, taking control of what would have been an autonomous module during a roughly two-hour window known as a “prox operation” shortly after launch, while the crew was still in Earth orbit, according to a NASA fact sheet. This step will provide critical data to astronauts on future missions, including Artemis III, which attempts to dock with the Leo lunar module, and Artemis IV, which will eventually return to the moon’s surface.
2. First woman to visit the moon
Mission Specialist Koch will be the first woman to visit the lunar environment beyond LEO.
Koch, 47, spent 328 days on the ISS between March 2019 and February 2020, and also holds the record for the most consecutive days in space by a woman. During this trip, Koch and fellow NASA astronaut Jessica Meir participated in the first all-female spacewalk in history. (The record for most consecutive days in space by a woman is held by now-retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who spent 665 days in space on three spaceflights.)
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During the Artemis II mission, according to the proposed schedule, Koch and fellow mission specialist Hansen would be first on the job about 40 minutes into the flight to help set up critical life support systems inside the capsule.
3. He was the first non-American to visit the moon.
Hansen is the third crew member to personally break new ground (or space) during an upcoming mission. The 50-year-old Canadian will become the first non-American to visit the lunar environment and the 10th Canadian to launch into space.
Hansen is the only crew member who has not yet been to space. As a result, he may experience “space adaptation syndrome.” This is basically an extreme version of motion sickness, which affects about half of first-time astronauts.
“I’m definitely concerned about that,” Hansen previously told Ars Technica. If they are affected, they must be “very intentional” with their actions and “try to minimize” them during the early stages of the mission, he added.
4. Oldest astronaut to visit the moon
Not to be outdone by his fellow crew members, Wiseman will also set a personal record during his upcoming lunar flight, becoming the oldest person to visit the lunar environment.
Mr. Wiseman will celebrate his 50th birthday in November (77 days before Mr. Hansen) and will continue the legacy of legendary NASA astronaut Alan Shepard. Mr. Shepard was 47 years old when he walked on the moon during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971 (he was also the first American to fly into space in the Freedom 7 capsule in 1961).
Interestingly, Hansen and Glover are older than Shepard was on Apollo 14, while Koch is only 72 days younger, suggesting that NASA is prioritizing experience with the Artemis program.
5.The farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth
The Artemis II crew is being sent into the lunar environment on a “free return orbit,” which essentially means they will slingshot around the moon and return to Earth without a return burn. This differs from most subsequent Apollo missions, which entered temporary orbit around the moon.
The final free return trajectory was inadvertently completed by the Apollo 13 crew. The crew, who famously had to abandon their moon landing due to an explosion inside their spacecraft, scrambled to perform a similar maneuver. The Artemis 1 mission revolved around the moon in a similar manner, but without a crew.
During the “moonshot,” the Artemis II crew is expected to reach a distance of up to 250,000 miles (402,000 km) from Earth, about 1,500 miles (2,400 km) further than the previous record holder, the Apollo 13 astronauts. This will occur while the crew is without radio communication for up to 50 minutes as they traverse the far side of the moon.
In “Star Trek” fashion, the Artemis II astronauts literally “daringly go to dangerous places.” [hu]And given that future lunar explorations like Artemis IV won’t use free-return orbits, this record could hold for quite a while, perhaps until humans visit Mars.
6. Highest re-entry speed (and fastest human ever)
The mission’s unique trajectory will allow the Artemis II crew to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere at slightly faster speeds than any other astronaut in history.
NASA estimates the crew’s maximum re-entry speed will be just over 25,000 mph (40,200 km/h), which would beat the current re-entry record held by the Apollo 10 astronauts, who burned excess fuel and arrived in a scorching heat as they returned from their lunar mission in 1969.
Some experts question whether the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield will be able to withstand the resulting scorching temperatures. But NASA is confident the shield can do the job.
This record also means that the Artemis II astronauts will travel faster than any other human in history (as atmospheric reentry is the fastest part of a space mission). However, this is not the fastest speed at which an artifact can move. The record belongs to NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, which reached a top speed of about 430,000 miles (692,000 km/h) during a recent flyby of its home star.
Other firsts
In addition to the major records listed above, the Artemis II mission marks several other firsts.
For example, this mission will be the first crewed launch of NASA’s Mega SLS rocket and will mark the first time humans piloted the Orion spacecraft.
Similarly, many of the technologies being tested on the Orion spacecraft are being used in space for the first time. One of the most important examples of this is the Orion Artemis II optical communications system, which uses lasers to send and receive messages to Earth, and will serve as the basis for future communications relays at NASA’s planned lunar base.
And last but not least, Artemis II will have the first fully functional toilet to visit the Moon, as the modules used by the Apollo astronauts were only equipped with “rescue tubes” and disposable bags.
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