Artemis II: for the first time, astronauts from a lunar mission have communicated with those on the ISS
Artemis II: for the first time, astronauts from a lunar mission have communicated with those on the ISS
In recent hours, many new photographs captured by the astronauts of the Artemis II mission have been released. These images show the solar eclipse they witnessed while beyond the Moon, as well as the Earthset photo, which captures the Earthrise from the Apollo 8 mission and many other stunning images.
Also in the past hours, there was the first communication between a crew of a lunar mission and one aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This is a significant milestone since, during the Apollo missions, there were no space stations in low Earth orbit, and by the time of the ISS's operations, the Apollo program (or similar programs) had concluded, excluding the current Artemis program.
The astronauts of Artemis II called those aboard the ISS. According to reports, the four astronauts of Expedition 74 (Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams, and Sophie Adenot) were able to receive an audio-only call from the Orion Integrity spacecraft of the Artemis II mission in recent hours, after the four astronauts of the lunar mission had already performed a close flyby of the Moon and were heading toward Earth. The total duration of the call was about 15 minutes.
The Milky Way as seen by the astronauts of Artemis II
The conversation mainly revolved around the curiosity related to the use of Orion as a spacecraft and the description of the Moon seen from such a close distance. Christina Koch was also able to greet her colleague Jessica Meir (currently aboard the ISS), with whom she had performed two spacewalks in January 2020, indicating that the training learned for the International Space Station was beneficial for the Artemis II mission.
Among the other news from the lunar mission is related to the toilet issue. NASA has confirmed that the problem persists, and although the discharge continued for about 14 hours last night, the tank was only emptied by 11%. Engineers believe that the formation of an external ice blockage on Integrity may not be the actual cause of the problem. It seems more likely that there is some buildup related to the chemical solution (which prevents the proliferation of microorganisms in the discharge systems) and its interaction with liquid waste, blocking a filter.
Around 2:03 AM local time today, the Orion spacecraft of the Artemis II mission ignited its thrusters for 15 seconds to increase its speed by about 1.76 km/h to facilitate the crew's return to Earth, expected for Friday. During the daily meeting with mission control, main operating procedures were reviewed, and it was confirmed that the USS John P. Murtha has left port to head to the recovery area for the spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean.