People all over the world were filled with excitement as NASA sent astronauts back to explore the moon for the first time since 1972. Crowds flocked to witness the launch of the first crewed spacecraft to the moon in more than 50 years.
The mission had extensive media coverage, including behind-the-scenes looks at the astronauts and the technology. If you want to experience something similar to what the astronauts saw, come to our “Artemis Fever” Moongaze and view the moon through our high-magnification telescope. We will be at South Pagosa Park on 8th Street at 8:45 p.m. on Saturday, April 25. We will try to answer any questions you have about the Artemis program.
Back to the historic mission: The spacecraft performed a flyby, observing roughly 20 percent of the far side of the moon for the first time with the unaided eye. The journey left them awestruck.
In the live coverage, they kept describing the experience as awe-inspiring, beautiful and, above all, impossible to fully describe with words.
Those of us back on Earth got to follow along with the breathtaking photos they sent back, but it’s an experience and perspective that very few people in the world can truly share.
The crew captured images of the moon under various lighting conditions, saw an “Earthset” and a stunning view of the moon eclipsing the sun. This historic, diverse team includes the first woman, person of color and non-U.S. citizen to travel to deep space. Artemis II made history by traveling the farthest distance from Earth that any humans have ever gone.
But, a flyby was not the only mission for the scientists. They were testing new technologies and operations such as the ability to protect against high radiation events and testing the spacecraft’s manual piloting capability.
All crewed missions to space end with the high-stakes re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. The capsule must survive temperatures of more than 5,000 degrees.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashed down at 8:07 p.m. EDT on April 10 off the coast of San Diego, completing a nearly 10-day journey that took them 252,756 miles from home.
Public engagement remained high throughout the mission, from launch to the successful return of the crew. The overall vision for Artemis and NASA aims not only to return humans to the moon within two years, but also to build a permanent lunar base and eventually go to Mars.
We definitely have the “fever” and can’t wait until the Artemis III mission scheduled for 2027.
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