The Artemis II crew is almost halfway to the moon, NASA says, and the mission is on track
The Artemis II team shows ‘UNBELIEVABLE’ for the moon
The Artemis II crew shared their surprise following the successful moon launch, which marks a milestone as they prepare to become the first humans to walk farther in space than any previous mission in history.
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The four astronauts on the Artemis II mission have been close to the moon since they were launched Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center.
“Since [Thursday’s] The firing of the trans-lunar injection to send the crew to the moon, the mission continues to work well, and the crew is very happy,” said Lakiesha Hawkins, deputy director of NASA’s exploration programs at a press conference on Friday.
He added, “Right now, the crew is more than 100,000 miles from Earth and about 150,000 miles from the moon.
“We call moonshots amazing for a reason, and really, this is our picture of the moon right in the middle of it.”
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The image of Earth was taken by NASA’s Artemis II astronaut Cmdr. Reid Wiseman inside the Orion capsule on Friday. (NASA via AP)
Hawkins also shared two photos taken by astronaut Cmdr. Reid Wiseman from the Orion spacecraft.
The first photo, Hawkins said, shows “an illuminated Earth showing auroras as the crew heads toward the moon.”
He said it was taken by astronaut Wiseman through a window in the Orion spacecraft, and includes two auroras and starlight “in the lower right. Seen as the Earth eclipses the sun.”
“It’s nice to think — except for our four friends — we’re all represented in this picture,” Hawkins said.
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This image provided by NASA shows a view of Earth taken by NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman from the spacecraft’s window after completing the translunar injection burn. (NASA via AP)
A second image taken by Wiseman after the trans-lunar injection, which releases the spacecraft from Earth orbit, on Thursday shows the terminator line, which separates day from night on Earth.
“So, we continue to learn about our spacecraft as we operate it in deep space with crews for the first time and it’s important to remind ourselves of that as we learn more and more each day,” Hawkins said.
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Artemis II Ascent flight director Judd Frieling said after the translunar injection was fired on Thursday that the crew checked their windows, organized medical conferences, and while they slept, the ground crew tested how to operate the spacecraft.
And after the astronauts woke up Friday morning, they were able to talk to their families.
“We planned to burn the road,” said Frieling. “The systems are doing very well now – the navigation and propulsion systems together – that was not needed. So, we will put it into the next scheduled heat tomorrow.”
This photo from a video provided by NASA shows the Artemis II crew: Canadian astronaut and mission technician Jeremy Hansen, left, Commander Reid Wiseman, mission technician Christina Koch and pilot Victor Glover. (NASA via AP)
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Howard Hu, Orion’s program manager, said the spacecraft’s onboard systems continue to perform well, the refueling system is “doing very well” and propellant consumption was within 5% of its predicted consumption limits.
He said they are working on one pressurization issue related to the helium pressurizing the fuel tanks that push the oxidizer and the fuel to make some of the burned stuff.
Hu said that one branch was supposed to be isolated, but it is no longer working and has no effect on the equipment.
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“We are able to burn all these machines without doing any law, what we call blowdown mode,” he said. “In other words, there is enough helium pressure in the tanks in the oxidizer itself that we can get the fuel out without needing to regulate or need more helium in the helium tanks.”
NASA’s Artemis II moon rocket takes off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-B, Wednesday, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (Chris O’Meara/AP)
Hu also revealed a picture of part of the Earth seen through a window in this space, which he said was taken by Wiseman.
“It just brought me great emotions to see this photo taken,” said Hu.
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Hu showed another photo of the crew, joking that Mechanic Jeremy Hansen looked like he “wasn’t working that hard, so I’ll have to check to make sure he’s doing something more than laying around on the sidelines here, but it’s great to see the team. It’s great to see their smiling faces and hear them talk about what they’ve experienced so far.”
Also aboard the Orion capsule for the 10-day journey to the moon are NASA Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialist Christina Koch.
