5 ways Artemis II advances space exploration

Research & Discovery

5 ways Artemis II advances space exploration

The Artemis II mission, which concluded Friday with a splashdown, sent four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the moon, setting a record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth. The mission marks a major step toward returning people to the lunar surface.

Portrait of Matt Pryal with globe in foreground.

Matt Pryal, an assistant professor in the Department of Astronomy, says going to the moon is “really cool.” (University Communications photo)

Before liftoff, UVA Today asked Matt Pryal, an assistant professor in the University of Virginia’s Department of Astronomy, why the mission was important. With the mission now complete, we asked Pryal for five takeaways on what the Artemis II mission achieved.

His observations:

1. Going to the moon is really, really, really cool.

Wow, did I undersell how cool it is to go to the moon. We sent four humans further away from Earth than anyone has ever traveled – more than 250,000 miles – and we all got to watch it livestreamed. The recently released image is jaw-dropping. The photo is moving. And listening to the childlike joy expressed by the Artemis astronauts and NASA’s mission control as they journeyed ever closer to the moon was fun.

Earth appears to set beyond the moon as seen from the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II flyby. Clouds swirled over Australia and Oceania, with the cratered lunar surface in the foreground. (NASA photo)

2. There is something innately human about a moon journey.

The most for me was when the Artemis astronauts decided to name a lunar feature “Carroll Crater” in honor of Commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll (who died of cancer in 2020 at age 46). Watching four astronauts cry, hug, love and support each other 250,000 miles away from Earth was something that made me proud to be a human.

It’s also been fascinating to watch the astronauts deal with , itchy socks, Microsoft Outlook issues and cold/hot air temperatures, and navigate stress created by their bosses. Being able to peek into the personalities of the Artemis astronauts and know how similar they are to the everyday person has been very grounding.

Victor Glover looking out of the Orion spacecraft's window.

NASA astronaut and Artemis II pilot Victor Glover looks out from the Orion spacecraft during the lunar flyby. He and his crewmates spent hours at the windows collecting data as they passed within about 4,000 miles of the moon’s surface. (NASA photo)

3. Exciting data was collected

The detailed science will take time to parse. NASA has collected a lot of data, gathered by the astronauts’ eyes, cameras, the flight test team on the spacecraft, the life support team. Some data has been downlinked, but there is much more to download after splashdown.

The Orion spacecraft they used for Artemis II is new. Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Control and the others on board tested its actual capabilities in space, rather than just what they expected based on models and simulations, including maneuvers in all directions, reliability of the rocket burns to accelerate on command and reliability of connections to Mission Control.

The moon, backlit by the sun during a solar eclipse, is seen from NASA’s Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II mission. Orion appears in the foreground, with Earth’s reflected light, Saturn and Mars visible in the distance. (NASA photo)

Since we frequently monitor the far side of the moon using lunar orbiters, the biggest surprise was not necessarily what we saw, since we already have high-resolution images of it, but the details/colors the astronauts were able to see with their own eyes. As the spacecraft flew over the lunar surface, it constantly changed orientation with respect to many of the lunar features, allowing for three-dimensional observations that are difficult with an image from an orbiter. Another “surprise” was the “impact flashes” the astronauts reported seeing, caused by small meteorites crashing into the unlit surface and creating a small flash. While the flashes are not yet confirmed – they can just be optical illusions – further data will allow us to know just how frequent they may be.

The astronauts were able to capture spectacular data through their own eyes and cameras that will help the Artemis team accomplish the of their mission. These observations include details of the solar corona (the outer atmosphere of the sun), observations of the far side of the moon, and photographing/describing the topography and color of the lunar surface. Humans are particularly well-suited to notice nuanced colors in objects in ways that cameras can’t quite capture.

We’ve been reminded that we have the technological capability to fly to the moon, but it’s been a while since we’ve been back. We’re rebuilding the knowledge that has waned from astronauts and mission control from our 50-year lunar lapse. We’re also reminded that space travel is hard. There have been incidents on the mission that NASA will want to avoid for future journeys.

Crowd of people watching the launch of Artemis II.

Spectators at the viewing site watch the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket carrying the Artemis II crew. (Photo by Keegan Barber, NASA)

4. This mission has been a breath of fresh air to the news cycle.

Life can be stressful. Modern media constantly uses polarization to generate clicks. But the impossible-to-deny excitement of the Artemis mission has brought a lot of joy to the news cycle. Over the course of the mission, we got to celebrate our success in overcoming the challenges of sending humans to the moon. I believe we should continue to celebrate the incredible achievements of humanity.

Half of the Earth from the Orion's window.

Earth comes into view through the Orion spacecraft window after the Artemis II crew completes its burn toward the moon. (NASA photo)

5. We’re just getting started!

I hope that this is the first step toward frequent missions to the moon. Public support will be vital for Artemis III and Artemis IV, which will land astronauts on the moon. NASA has continuously shown that it creates one of the best returns on investment for the federal budget. NASA inspires curious people to create new knowledge that will one day impact our daily lives. Missions such as Artemis II are the initial steps needed to return humans to the lunar surface and eventually to Mars.

And Mars is a loooooong way away. At its closest approach, Mars is still nearly 200 times further away than the moon. There is a lot more risk in such a lengthy journey, and Mars’ stronger gravity will make it much harder to land. Couple this with the fact that radio communication will have much longer delays on Mars (about five minutes) compared to the moon (about one second). The spacecraft and the astronauts will be much more on their own for a Martian journey, requiring much more fuel, food, water, etc.