Finally flying to the moon again
- Thread starter MamboJazz
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remember that the rocket to the moon will travel around 250,000 miles one way, as Commander Reid Wiseman said, April 1st is not a guarantee, April 6th is not a guarantee, etc....what happened to Apollo 13 was a lesson to NASA, it is always important to get to the Moon and back safely
Cool, as they are pilots they fly themselves the airplanes bringing them from Houston to Cape Canaveral. Planned start is wednesday april 1st (no joke), but this may well be postponed if technical issues arise before.
It's often said that astronauts endure isolation like no one else, because astronauts in orbit or on moon can't return quickly in case of medical issues. Actually overwinter on south pole station is harder. Artemis 2 astronaut Christina Koch has spent a winter at south pole station, that means eight months without chance to get out even in case of medical issues - that's more isolation than a moon flight. South pole station is continously manned since 1956 already, and for decades no one could get out for eight months. Winter flights to south pole are nearly impossible, the first winter evacuation flight occurred in 2001, there have been only three until now. Unless you are really about to die and some pilot agrees to take the risk no one gets out there for eight months.
Fun fact: it is a long-standing tradition at the South Pole Station - and other Antarctic stations - for the winter-over crew to watch John Carpenter's horror movie "The Thing" (1982) on the first night of winter, immediately after the last plane departs for the season. The movie "tells the story of a group of American researchers in Antarctica who encounter the eponymous "Thing", an extraterrestrial life-form that assimilates, then imitates, other organisms. The group is overcome by paranoia and conflict as they learn that they can no longer trust each other and that any of them could be the Thing". These guys at south pole station seem to need having humour.
a winter in the south pole could be an instructive experience for astronauts, there winter can be a very isolated exposure, the lowest temperature ever recorded by a thermometer was -128 F at Vostok station on July 21, 1983, however, researchers using satellite sensors have identified that temperatures on the east antartic plateau can plunge as low as -136 F or potentially even below -144 F....the winter is characterized by intense katabatic winds that can exceed 62 mph for days, creating dangerous blizzard conditions and significant wind chill, therefore, due to the expancion of sea ice and treacherous weather, antartica becomes largery inaccessible to ships and aircraft from April throught October when much of the continent experience the polar night with contant darkness for months
as i said before, the Artemis II crewed mission around the Moon is an extraordinary opportunity to see astronauts travel to Earth's satellite, the Moon, this time not as a historical event, but in our own lifetime....the mission will cover about 685,000 miles in a 10-day voyage, and according to NASA's countdown news conferences the preparations are going according to plan for the April 1st liftoff....take care all
Around the Moon for All Humanity: Artemis II (Official Launch Trailer)
Around the Moon for All Humanity: Artemis II (Official Launch Trailer)
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This feed will provide continuous coverage of Artemis II mission activities with live commentary, concluding with the recovery of the Orion Integrity spacecraft after splashdown....Live coverage of Artemis II's launch and lunar flyby, as well as daily mission briefings, will also stream on this feed
Four astronauts, three from NASA and one from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), make up the Artemis II crew:
- NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander
- NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot
- NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist
- Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist
Four astronauts, three from NASA and one from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), make up the Artemis II crew:
- NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander
- NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot
- NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist
- Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist
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Translunar injection burn was successful so Artemis 2 is heading for its flyby around the moon on monday.
Astronauts answered questions from space, including one question at 9:19: "As you all know there is so much division at home right now, what message do you want to send?"
Astronauts answered questions from space, including one question at 9:19: "As you all know there is so much division at home right now, what message do you want to send?"
the Artemis II mission had thrilling occasions that all of us will remember, for example: the liftoff, earth orbits, moon flyby, solar eclipse, and this Friday, the reentry, splashdown and recovery of the spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean....i have seen some fascinating pictures by the crew, lots of interesting pictures captured by the crew in this mission, take care all
the most emotional moment has to be the rescue of the astronauts by a joint NASA and U.S. Navy team in the Pacific Ocean after their historic 10-day journey around the Moon
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NASA....Experience a historic moment in human spaceflight: the first-ever ship-to-ship call between astronauts on a deep space mission and astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The Artemis II crew — NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen — connected with Expedition 74 astronauts Chris Williams, Jack Hathaway, Jessica Meir, and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot.
NASA's Artemis II Post-Splashdown News Conference, Join us as agency leaders talk about today's splashdown and answer questions from the media.
NASA astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, 2026, concluding the Artemis II mission. Our Artemis II crew accomplished many milestones on their 10-day mission, surpassing the Apollo 13 record for farthest crewed spaceflight and capturing never-before-seen views of the far side of the Moon.
Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
Credit: NASA
NASA astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, 2026, concluding the Artemis II mission. Our Artemis II crew accomplished many milestones on their 10-day mission, surpassing the Apollo 13 record for farthest crewed spaceflight and capturing never-before-seen views of the far side of the Moon.
Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
Credit: NASA
Artemis 2 mission was very successful and I enjoyed watching it every day. I feel like I just returned from the moon now.
So next time landing on the moon? Wait, NASA doesn't even have a lander yet. Both SpaceX and Blue Origin have contracts to develop a lander for it, the outcome is unclear. The one from SpaceX is so strange that many hope it won't get realized, the one from Blue Origin is more Apollo style and more realistic.
At the same time the chinese were very successful the last years, now having a great space station of their own and landing a rover on mars. I feel like they could land on the moon before Artemis. They are so determined and straightforward.
Neil deGrasse Tyson pointed out that technical leaps mostly occur when competition is there. NASA never got the billions from congress to return to the moon over decades. He mused if "someone" in the 2010s who wanted to get back on the moon managed to exclude China from the ISS, knowing they would develop a program on its own, thus creating a competition scenario that made US congress finally sign the bills for the US Artemis program. Indeed Trump administration can't stand the thought of not being first to return, although it doesn't matter. I'm fine with this competition, leaning back with popcorn ready.
phys.org
So next time landing on the moon? Wait, NASA doesn't even have a lander yet. Both SpaceX and Blue Origin have contracts to develop a lander for it, the outcome is unclear. The one from SpaceX is so strange that many hope it won't get realized, the one from Blue Origin is more Apollo style and more realistic.
At the same time the chinese were very successful the last years, now having a great space station of their own and landing a rover on mars. I feel like they could land on the moon before Artemis. They are so determined and straightforward.
Neil deGrasse Tyson pointed out that technical leaps mostly occur when competition is there. NASA never got the billions from congress to return to the moon over decades. He mused if "someone" in the 2010s who wanted to get back on the moon managed to exclude China from the ISS, knowing they would develop a program on its own, thus creating a competition scenario that made US congress finally sign the bills for the US Artemis program. Indeed Trump administration can't stand the thought of not being first to return, although it doesn't matter. I'm fine with this competition, leaning back with popcorn ready.
After Artemis II, NASA looks to SpaceX, Blue Origin for moon landings
With Artemis II successfully completing its historic lunar mission on Friday, NASA is banking on billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk for the next step: landing astronauts on the moon.
Artemis crew members back in Houston giving emotional speeches. They were a great team, one could feel that, and they say "We're bonded now forever" - and it's remarkable how touched they all are after having been so far away. It raises the question in me how humans want to endure travelling to mars when earth becomes a faint star in space.