Artemis II: History in the Making

Caitlyn Woodbury

Reid Wiseman. Victor Glover. Christina Koch. Jeremy Hansen.

These are names that will be remembered for a long time as the four astronauts that have travelled further than any before them. For the first time in 50 years, man was finally heading back to the moon.

On 1st April at 23:35 UK time, the crew launched from the Kennedy Space Centre, Florida with the support of NASA teams on the ground. This mission involved NASA's most powerful spacecraft "Orion", and within a few hours, the crew had left the earth.

For the first few days, the Orion stayed orbiting the earth. While many found this confusing, this was to ensure the safety of the crew with the many changes that occur outside the Earth's atmosphere. Once everything was deemed safe on 3rd April, they underwent a "translunar injection burn". This was a 5 minute and 50 second engine burn that propelled the spacecraft out of orbit and towards the moon. Despite sounding like the world's best rollercoaster, the amount of pressure involved could have had disastrous consequences. But as we know, it did not (otherwise this would be a rather depressing blog). In fact, NASA's Dr Lori Glaze called the burn flawless.

Once out of orbit, the astronauts were able to experience the amazing view of Earth that only few see with their own eyes. By 5th April, the Orion had entered the Moon's gravitational pull and the work could begin. Whilst orbiting around the moon, the crew tested the spacecraft's ability in deep space, and observing the moon at a level not seen in many decades.

On the 6th April, the Artemis II crew officially travelled further than any humans have before: a large 252,756 miles from Earth. As they travelled to the far side of the moon, contact was temporarily lost- a great risk in case anything occurred. However, nothing dangerous had occurred, but they did discover two craters. One which was named "Integrity" and one named "Carroll" in memory of Wiseman's late wife.

After making history, it was time for the crew to return home. On 10th April 01:37 UK time, they landed safe and sound in the Pacific Ocean and were welcomed in Houston on the evening the 11th April.

Now I am sure you are wondering "Caitlyn, we have landed on the moon before, why did this crew not land as well?". Well, this mission, despite breaking records, was to prepare for future missions to land on the moon. Artemis II ensured that the Orion spacecraft, and the human body could withstand deep space. Now that this mission has been a success, there is no doubt that NASA or other space agencies are setting in stone the next lunar mission.