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Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, second from left, thanks the families of the crew while speaking with NASA Mission Control in a video conference while en route to the moon on Thursday. Canadian astronaut and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, far left, looks on and mission specialist Christina Koch and pilot Victor Glover, far right, make hearts with their hands.Uncredited/The Associated Press
It seems that space agrees with Jeremy Hansen.
Now four days into an epic voyage around the moon, the Canadian astronaut and sole rookie space traveller on the Artemis II mission appears to be managing the disorienting physical effects of weightlessness that can sometimes sideline first-timers.
“He’s making it look easy,” said Victor Glover, the pilot aboard the space capsule, which the Artemis II crew have dubbed Integrity.
The approving aside came during a live link early Saturday morning when Col. Hansen spoke with members of the Canadian media who were gathered at Canadian Space Agency headquarters in Longueuil, Que.
Commander Reid Wiseman also spoke during the briefing and added warm words of praise for his Canadian colleague.
“It’s so fun to watch you as a first-time flyer up here running circles around all of us,” he said.
Mission specialist Christina Koch was off camera during the briefing.
How the Artemis II mission is rekindling humanity’s long love affair with the moon
Although selected as an astronaut 17 years ago, Col. Hansen is only now experiencing what it is like to be in space. His three American crewmates have previously spent time on the International Space Station.
The crew is now well into their mission which began with a flawless liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday evening.
Integrity is on track to loop around the moon’s far side with the closest approach occurring Monday afternoon. The spacecraft will then be on a return course back to Earth and it is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean next Friday.
The purpose of the flight is to test the systems on board the Orion crew capsule, including life support and manoeuvring. It marks the first time that the capsule has flown with astronauts on board. The mission is seen as a crucial stepping-stone that will enable a regular schedule of flights to the moon, including landings on the surface, as early as 2028.
Along the way, the crew have reminded those who are following the mission what it looks like to travel so far from our home planet.
Photos take by the crew include a stunning view of the night side of Earth illuminated by the light of the full moon, with a portion of Africa and the Mediterranean visible as well as aurorae near the South Pole.
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A view of Earth, taken by NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman from one of the Orion spacecraft’s four windows on Thursday.Uncredited/The Associated Press
On the crew’s initial day in space, “we saw some extraordinary things,” said Col. Hansen.
At that point, Integrity was on an elongated orbit that took it tens of thousands of kilometres away from Earth before it plunged back down for a high speed pass of less than 200 kilometres before igniting the engine burn that would send the craft out to the moon.
“It just felt like we were falling out of the sky back to Earth, and I said to Reed, ‘It feels like we’re going to hit it. It’s amazing that we’re actually going to go around and miss this thing.’”
The manoeuvre was a first for any crewed mission in space.
With a mighty burn, Artemis II flings itself moonward
By early Saturday, Integrity was more than 200,000 kilometres from Earth – more than halfway to the moon, which has been growing larger in their view port, Col. Hansen said.
The angle with which the crew is now seeing the moon means they can discern features that are not visible from Earth. This includes a giant impact basin called Mare Orientale which the crew will have a chance to observe and image in detail in the coming days.
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Hansen greets family members as he leaves the Operations and Checkout building on his way to Launch Pad 39B on Wednesday in Cape Canaveral, Fla.John Raoux/The Associated Press
Col. Hansen also spoke about how the crew is preparing to view a solar eclipse later in the flight, when the moon will block the sun from view and they will have an opportunity to look for signs of a phenomenon called “regolith lofting” which may cause lunar dust to appear suspended over the moon due to electrostatic forces.
At Canadian Space Agency headquarters, astronaut and physician David Saint-Jacques, who was selected alongside Col. Hansen in 2009 and then flew a long-duration mission to the space station in 2018-19, agreed that Col. Hansen had wasted no time developing his space legs for the 10-day trip.
“I think he’s adapted remarkably well and quickly,” Dr. Saint-Jacques said. “And it doesn’t surprise me. There’s nothing that Jeremy can’t do.”
