The Artemis II mission, featuring four astronauts, will orbit the Moon for the first time in over 50 years, serving as a critical precursor to future lunar landings and Mars missions. Astronauts will conduct vital lunar science observations, leveraging their unique human perspective to study the Moon's surface and geology. Simultaneously, they will act as subjects for groundbreaking human health experiments, providing crucial data on the effects of deep space travel on the human body.
Every atomic assertion extracted from the underlying record, ranked by evidence strength.
Christina Koch stated that the Moon is a witness plate for the solar system's formation.
Artemis II crew will make planetary-scale color and albedo observations of major chunks of the far side of the Moon, which has not been done before.
The "Avatar" experiment uses astronauts' stem cells to develop bone marrow on an "organ-on-a-chip" device.
Artemis II sets the stage for future Artemis missions where astronauts will return to the Moon's surface.
Artemis II could scout ahead for Artemis III, potentially looking at candidate landing regions at the Moon's south pole.
Artemis II astronauts will observe the Moon directly from their Orion capsule.
NASA scientists who train astronauts in geology will guide them from mission control on Earth.
Artemis II astronauts may make new discoveries about features on the lunar surface.
The Moon's surface, with its many craters, is a record of the history of our solar system because it lacks wind or liquid water.
Artemis II astronauts have taken intense science classes to become experts in lunar geology.
Artemis II astronauts are subjects of science, participating in experiments studying the human body during deep space travel.
Answers from lunar and human questions have big implications for NASA's goals of a long-term presence on the Moon and landing humans on Mars.
Jeremy Hansen stated that science enabled humans to leave Earth and the crew is "all in" for enabling science.
Apollo astronauts collected 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of Moon rocks.
Moon rocks have helped understand when and how the Moon formed and its relationship to Earth.
Lunar geology is considered solar system formation science.
Knowledge from the Moon can be applied to understand how planetary systems around other stars form and evolve.
Artemis II astronauts will not be landing on the Moon, so no new Moon rocks will be collected this time.
Scientific observations from Artemis II will set the stage for Artemis III, when astronauts will study lunar geology on the surface.
Patti Boyd is on the Artemis III science team.
Kelsey Young is the lunar science lead for Artemis II.
Kelsey Young teaches astronauts to be good scientists and ensures the mission achieves its research goals.
The Earth-Moon system formed about 4.5 billion years ago.
The Moon likely formed in a cataclysmic collision in the early solar system.
Planetary field geology involves studying rocks that are "out of this world" using Earth analogs like deserts, volcanoes, or craters.
Kelsey Young has tested tools like a handheld X-ray fluorescence spectrometer in the field for astronauts to use.
The Artemis II crew (Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen) are described as spectacular and passionate about science and geology.
The crew trained in a crater in Iceland to learn how to observe the Moon like scientists.
The human eye, connected to a well-trained brain, is a powerful scientific instrument for lunar observation.
Artemis II astronauts are trained to observe color, nuanced shades of gray, and albedo of the Moon.
The crew will be on the lookout for impact flashes, which form fresh craters.
Apollo missions saw only small swaths of the Moon, but Artemis II will see the entire lunar disk.
The Moon will appear about the size of a basketball held at arm's length to the Artemis II crew.
Seeing the Moon with human eyes is different from remote sensing imagery.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) sees small swaths of the Moon at a time.
Orbiting astronauts can take in more in a shorter amount of time than LRO.
Artemis II astronauts will observe lunar features during changing lighting conditions over several hours.
What could take a robotic spacecraft years to uncover, Artemis II astronauts can see in a few hours.
The appearance of lunar topography, color, and albedo depends on lighting conditions.
The human brain and eye can pick out details in varying lighting that cameras on orbiters would take years to line up.
The Artemis II crew could see parts of the Moon that no human has ever seen directly before, particularly on the far side and near the poles.
Apollo missions landed on the near side of the Moon, and orbited when the near side was lit and the far side was dark.
The lighting conditions on the Moon for Artemis II will depend on the launch phase.
Planning science goals for Artemis II is complicated due to variable lighting conditions.
Kelsey Young will be at a console labeled "science" in Mission Control for Artemis II.
Lunar science hasn't been part of NASA's human spaceflight program since Apollo.
A science evaluation room will house lunar scientists, cartographers, and software developers with a list of 150 potential lunar features.
The Science Mission Operations Room (SMOR) provides coordinated data analysis support.
The science team will have two days after launch to narrow their target list of 150 features to the best ones.
The "Big 15" are 15 lunar features astronauts memorize to orient themselves.
Reid Wiseman made a flashcard to memorize the "Big 15" lunar features.
The crew will have three or more hours dedicated to studying the Moon during their flyby.
During a 45-minute "loss of signal" period, the crew will be out of communication with Mission Control and will execute their targeting plan using tablets.
The Artemis II mission is a microcosm of what to expect for future EVAs on the lunar surface.
Apollo 8 orbited the Moon, scouted landing sites, and practiced for Apollo 11.
Kelsey Young met with scientists who trained Apollo astronauts in geology and orbital observations.
Apollo 8 gave us the iconic "Earthrise" photo.
Christina Koch had an "Earthrise" poster as a kid.
Victor Glover described the "Earthrise" simulation as amazing, noting how small and clear Earth looked.
NASA is setting up a long-term presence on the Moon, which is new territory.