NASA’s Artemis II mission, featuring a team of four astronauts from the United States and Canada, is on schedule to return to Earth on Friday after a groundbreaking journey to the far side of the moon.
Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen have spent a total of 10 days aboard the Orion spacecraft. Their re-entry is expected to begin at 7:33 p.m. ET, with a splashdown anticipated at 8:07 p.m.
NASA is providing a live broadcast as the crew touches down in the Pacific Ocean later today. The Orion spacecraft is forecasted to make its splashdown off the coast of San Diego, California.
The Artemis II mission represents the first human journey to the moon’s orbit in more than half a century. The crew ventured farther from Earth than any humans in history, reaching an estimated 252,760 miles from our planet. This distance is comparable to traveling between New York City and Los Angeles approximately 100 times, with the astronauts residing in a capsule that offers 330 cubic feet of living space, roughly the size of two minivans.
The primary aim of the Artemis II mission is to gather data and insights to aid NASA in preparing for future lunar missions and landings. The astronauts conducted planned tests on the Orion spacecraft to assess its performance with a crew in deep space. These tests included evaluating communication systems with Earth, adjusting trajectories, and ensuring a safe re-entry and splashdown.
The splashdown is considered one of the most perilous phases of the mission. During the Artemis I mission in 2022, which was uncrewed, Orion’s heat shield was unexpectedly damaged upon re-entry. The heat shield, composed of AVCOAT, is designed to gradually burn away and safeguard the crew from temperatures nearing 5,000 degrees as it enters Earth’s atmosphere. However, it was found charred and cracked unexpectedly.
NASA indicated that, had there been a crew on Artemis I, they would have returned safely. The agency has since conducted extensive analysis on the heat shield’s damage. Nevertheless, the heat shield remains a significant concern as the world watches for the safe return of these four astronauts.
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The crew departed Earth on April 1 and experienced minor issues early in the mission, such as challenges with Microsoft Office and their toilet. These minor setbacks were quickly overshadowed by the awe-inspiring images and data sent back from the moon. New photos from the lunar flyby on the moon’s dark side are already available for viewing here.
The astronauts also named new craters, including one in honor of mission commander Wiseman’s late wife Carroll, who passed away from cancer in 2020 at the age of 46.
Additionally, the crew had the unique opportunity to observe a total solar eclipse from a few thousand miles away from the moon, offering a vantage point no astronaut had experienced before.
“It wasn’t just an eclipse with the Sun hidden behind the Moon,” explained Koch, the mission specialist. “We could also see earthshine, the Sun’s light reflecting off Earth, wrapping the Moon in a soft, borrowed glow.”
The live broadcast continues to stream here.
