No rest for the weary: The Artemis II astronauts have kept busy for nearly two weeks since they returned to Earth from one of NASA’s most prolific missions in decades.
The 10-day mission beginning April 1 in Cape Canaveral, Florida and ending April 10 off the coast of San Diego, California became the first spaceflight to send humans near the vicinity of the moon in more than 50 years. During their journey, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen, traveled farther from Earth than any humans before them while seeing unprecedented sights of the moon.
Now that they’re back following splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, the astronauts have spent the ensuing days reuniting with family, debriefing about the mission and making media appearances – all while adapting to life back on Earth.
As for NASA, the U.S. space agency isn’t resting on its laurels, but is already taking steps to get its Artemis III mission off the ground as it eyes a human moon landing in 2028.
Nearly two weeks since the Artemis II astronauts returned to Earth, here are five things to know about what they’ve been up to and what’s next for NASA’s moon program.
Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman shares Earthset video
NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, who served as commander on the Artemis II mission, shared a video April 19 of an Earthset as our planet sets on the lunar horizon.
The breathtaking video was recorded April 6 on Wiseman’s iPhone as the Artemis II crew made a historic flyby of the moon. During the lunar rendezvous, the astronauts aboard an Orion capsule came no closer than about 4,000 miles above the lunar surface – affording them sights of the far side that no human had ever seen in person.
“I could barely see the moon through the docking hatch window but the iPhone was the perfect size to catch the view,” Wiseman said in a caption on Instagram. “This is uncropped, uncut with 8x zoom which is quite comparable to the view of the human eye. Enjoy.
In the video, which quickly went viral, the astronauts can be heard marveling at the profound sight as mission specialist Christina Koch rapidly snaps photos on a 400 mm lens camera.
“Would you look at that, man,” one of the astronauts can be heard saying in the video. “Wow. Dude, no way.”
Artemis II astronauts transition to life back on Earth
Koch also shared a video April 17 on social media as the astronaut took part in exercises meant to help her adapt back to life under Earth’s gravity – even seven days after splashdown.
The video shows Koch attempting what she refers to as a tandem walk with her eyes closed, which she explained in the caption can help inform how conditions like vertigo and concussions are treated.
“When people live in microgravity, the systems in our body that have evolved to tell our brains how we’re moving, the vestibular organs, don’t work correctly,” Koch explained. “Our brains learn to ignore those signals and so when we first get back to gravity, we are heavily reliant on our eyes to orient ourselves visually.”
Koch, an avid adventurer, even quipped, “guess I’ll be waiting a minute to surf again.”
Artemis II astronauts conduct simulated walks on the moon
Artemis II mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, an astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency, also shared videos and photos of himself conducting simulated moon walks at the Johnson Space Center in Houston within the first week of returning from space.
In a photo shared April 16 on Instagram, Hansen explained that he and his crewmates have taken part in the simulations in order to “figure out how to make the most of every step on the lunar surface during future missions.”
“We suit up and push through demanding test runs while our bodies are still adjusting after our trip around the moon,” Hansen explained.
In a video shared April 15, the Canadian Space Agency even joked, “no rest for the wicked!”
NASA rolls out SLS core stage for Artemis III launch
NASA is already looking ahead to its next moon mission, Artemis III. Slated for launch in 2027, the mission will send a new crew of astronauts aboard an Orion capsule to Earth orbit, where they could dock with one or both commercial lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin.
Like Artemis II, the mission would be another crucial test of hardware and procedures before a moon landing in 2028 during Artemis IV.
At its Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, the space agency on April 20 rolled out the next core stage of its Space Launch System rocket that will propel the Artemis III mission to orbit. The move comes as NASA prepared to load the giant piece of hardware onto its Pegasus barge to be shipped to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The 212-foot core stage, where the bulk of super-cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuel is stored to power four engines, is the largest section of the SLS rocket.
NASA’s mobile launcher used on the Artemis II mission is also now back inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in preparation for integration with the SLS rocket.
NASA watchdog issues warning on Artemis spacesuits
But it’s not all good news for NASA and it’s Artemis moon program.
NASA’s Office of the Inspector General issued a report April 20 warning that the spacesuits needed for astronaut lunar surface operations may not be ready in time. NASA contracted Houston-based Axiom Space to develop spacesuits that the U.S. space agency would effectively rent for future crewed missions to the moon.
But while NASA and Axiom said things are on track for the spacesuits to be tested in 2027 during the Artemis III mission, the watchdog’s report found the suit may not be ready until 2031 – or three years after the moon landing mission is targeted.
The report, which outlines two steps NASA can take, comes about a month after the OIG issued another dire report in March finding that both Blue Origin’s and SpaceX’s lunar landers are also behind schedule.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com. Subscribe to the free Florida TODAY newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Back from the moon, Artemis II astronauts acclimate to life on Earth
Reporting by Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Florida Today
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
