Artemis II Shoots to the Stars
Norah Block ‘26
Associate Editor
Alex Ellis ‘26
Managing Editor
NASA’s Artemis II crew successfully landed in the Pacific Ocean on April 10 after a 10-day orbit around the Moon, culminating in the first crewed Lunar flyby since Apollo 13 in 1970. Upon re-entry, the capsule returned temperatures of over 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
“A perfect bullseye splashdown for Integrity and its four astronauts," NASA commentator Rob Navias reported moments after landing. The spacecraft, named Integrity, housed Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch on their ten-day trip.
During the mission, the crew broke the record of farthest crewed space flight from Earth, reaching a distance of 252,756 miles from Earth. According to AP News, Hansen radioed, “It is blowing my mind what you can see with the naked eye from the moon right now.” He also said he wanted to “make sure this record is not long-lived.”
This mission was extremely significant because it was a test flight of the Space Launch System (SLS), meant to prove the spacecraft could support future missions. The crew tested the life support systems, collected important data, and manually controlled the spacecraft. They also evaluated the emergency equipment, emergency procedures, spacecraft operation while the crew exercises, and survival system spacesuits.
For today’s students, this mission transforms the Moon from a distant planet in space to a reachable destination for future careers in science and engineering.
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