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Brief
- The Artemis II crew trained for almost three years for their unprecedented fly-by of the moon.
- However, despite the efforts of NASA engineers, some long-running space-travel issues remained.
The Artemis II crew has successfully returned to Earth after completing a historic lunar flyby, marking the furthest humans have ever traveled into space.
The four astronauts, part of NASA’s ambitious mission, spent years rigorously preparing for their 10-day journey. This preparation included adapting to the challenges of zero gravity, a crucial skill for enduring space travel.
The team comprised NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, alongside Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Their extensive training regimen began in June 2023.
Unlike typical training for International Space Station missions, the Artemis II crew faced a unique set of challenges. Their preparation included a diverse range of exercises tailored specifically to the mission’s demands.
One significant aspect of their training involved learning to troubleshoot independently while orbiting the moon, as they would be beyond the reach of direct communication with Earth during this phase of their mission.
Artemis II chief training officer Jacki Mahaffey described the training as “all-risk mitigation”.
“By preparing the astronauts and flight controllers for what they might encounter, we enable mission success,” she said in an article on the NASA website in January.
The crew’s training proved effective throughout their lunar journey, including when the team had an issue with an essential piece of equipment: the spacecraft’s toilet.
Training for the Artemis II mission
NASA said the four astronauts had to closely study the Orion spacecraft and how to operate it at different phases of the journey.
The agency built the Orion Mission Simulator at its Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, so the crew could rehearse everything from routine operations to emergency responses during their journey.
The astronauts wore special spacesuits designed for the Artemis II mission during training, and engineers tested the capsule’s life support systems based on data collected from the training.
A key part of their training was in photography and lunar observation, as the astronauts were expected to use their eyes to study the moon.
“Human eyes and brains are highly sensitive to subtle changes in colour, texture, and other surface characteristics,” NASA said in a frequently asked questions article on the Artemis II mission.
“Having astronaut eyes observe the lunar surface directly, in combination with the context of all the advances that scientists have made about the moon over the last several decades, may uncover new discoveries and a more nuanced appreciation for the features on the surface of the moon.”
To prepare for the observation, the astronauts had to study the moon’s far side and learn how to identify crater shapes, surface textures and colours.
The also trained in a T-38 jet to build spatial awareness and adaptability, which NASA hoped would “translate directly to decision-making under pressure in spaceflight”.
Preparing body and mind
Without Earth’s gravity, both bone and muscle atrophy, leading to complex health risks for astronauts.
Early on in US space research, scientists realised that exercise would be a critical part of maintaining healthy bones and muscles in space.
Early missions used simple elastic bands, but exercise hardware has become increasingly advanced.
The Artemis crew members also had to familiarise themselves with the Orion capsule’s flywheel exercise device, which was developed by NASA and space researchers for astronauts to exercise in space.
The device, which NASA describes as being akin to a rowing machine, contains a flywheel, a series of pulleys and a torque limiter inside a frame that’s as big as a shoebox.
Artemis II’s toilet problem
Despite the almost three years of training, the Artemis II crew was still hit by a technical challenge — the toilet in the Orion capsule wasn’t working properly.
Over the weekend, NASA confirmed a wastewater vent line was clogged, with the BBC reporting that the crew had to adjust the spacecraft to point the vent towards the sun to clear the clog.
Speaking to CNN, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said that, throughout the history of human spaceflight, “the toilet working is almost a bonus capability”.
Isaacman said the Artemis team had installed backup vent lines, and the astronauts were “well prepared” for the situation.
What did the Artemis II astronauts eat?
The Artemis II crew were provided with 189 unique food and beverage items during their mission, including coffee and smoothies, NASA said.
They could choose from a dinner menu of tortillas, nuts, barbecue beef brisket, cauliflower, macaroni and cheese, with cookies, butternut squash and chocolate as snacks.
Most of the meals were dehydrated before being packed and then rehydrated by the crew before being consumed.
The menu was developed by space food experts and the crew to manage calories, hydration and nutrition.
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