In brief
- Artemis II is the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program.
- The 10-day voyage around the moon and back was supported by thousands of astronauts and scientists worldwide, including in Australia.
The Artemis II mission has marked the return of manned deep-space exploration, paving the way for humanity to once again walk on the moon and beyond.
The historic voyage brought several firsts to space flight — including the first non-American on a lunar mission — and faced several on-board challenges.
As the Orion spacecraft returned to Earth, with Australian help behind the scenes, the space industry is looking ahead to future missions to the moon and Mars.
The astronauts will now go through months of rehabilitation and recovery from the harsh conditions of space travel, sharing their expertise ahead of the planned launch of Artemis III next year.
Associate professor Gail Iles, a doctor of physics at RMIT University, told SBS News the job of preparing the astronauts, the mission itself, and caring for the crew afterwards is a massive task.
"There's a statement in the space industry that says it takes 3,000 people to put one person into space," she said.
"Thousands of scientists and engineers worked towards this common purpose to put them in space and allow them to be the ones who rode the rocket and had the privilege of going around the dark side of the moon."
The goal of the Artemis missions, NASA says, is to establish a long-term human presence on the moon, and preparation for future human missions to Mars.
Significance of the launch
Artemis II is the first crewed mission of NASA's Artemis program, sending four astronauts on a journey around the moon and back without landing.
The mission took 10 days and returned to Earth on Saturday morning, completing deep-space travel for the first time in over 50 years, since Apollo 17.
The crew comprised NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen.
Professor Andrew Dempster, the director of the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research at UNSW, told SBS News the mission's main purpose is to test systems needed for future lunar exploration and to help prepare for a future moon landing on Artemis III.
He said the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is the most significant part of the mission.
"This SLS system has been a long time in the making, and the fact that this is the first time that the launch system has carried humans into space. I personally find the most interesting and important part of the mission," he said.
NASA calls the SLS system a "heavy-lift" rocket and say its the only one of its kind capable of carrying astronauts and cargo to the moon in a single launch.
The SLS can be improved to carry more weight deep into space, enabling larger crews and greater cargo storage in the future.
This will underpin the next mission in the Artemis series, Artemis III, which NASA says will test the spacecraft's ability to dock on the Moon's surface in 2027.
On board challenges
Astronauts had to adapt to the demands of living and working in deep space, establishing daily routines for sleep, exercise, and tasks inside the confined space of the Orion.
They practised first aid and CPR in microgravity, tested brand-new technologies, and monitored the ship's trajectory throughout the flight.
The crew also had to deal with minor technical issues, including a faulty toilet system.
The spacecraft's Universal Waste Management System, a piece of equipment that cost NASA US$23 million ($32.5 million) to develop, began malfunctioning just hours after take-off.
While some challenges, such as surviving extreme radiation and temperatures, were anticipated, a broken lunar loo forced the crew to resort to alternative waste-disposal methods.
The mission's flight director Rick Henfling, said the crew was using "special bags" to manage the situation, as reported by the AFP.
Iles, also a former astronaut instructor at the European Space Agency, said the crew would have prepared physically and mentally for years to adapt to a range of obstacles.
"It would be a mixture of classroom training and then learning about the systems and some of the experiments that are on board the existing spacecraft," she told SBS News.
"Their medical reaction to space is also checked and assessed to see how they responded and how their body coped with the rigours of space flight."
Rehabilitation
Upon their return, the four astronauts will now undergo individualised programs to help their bodies return to a pre-flight state.
Iles said the two main health issues for such a trip into space are muscle weakness and loss of bone density.
These are the results of their bodies having adapted and optimised themselves to live and work in space.
"The phenomenal part is how adaptable we are as humans to this new environment, but then coming back to the 1G is the struggle," she said.
"They will go through a very carefully designed program that will be tailored to the individual and their unique body chemistry, and it will get them back to a condition where they can potentially fly again."
1G is the force we feel on Earth. In space, most orbital vehicles, such as the International Space Station, experience near-zero gravity because they are in constant free fall.
Australia's involvement
The 10-day voyage was supported by thousands of astronauts and scientists worldwide, including in Australia.
Dempster explained that Australia was pivotal to the Deep Space Network, which also included Spain and the US.
Facilities like the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex are part of this network.
These stations help maintain contact with the Orion spacecraft, especially when it’s over the southern hemisphere.
"The idea there is that you have continuous communication with the spacecraft and all the spacecraft that go to deep space," he said.
"The ones that have gone even beyond the solar system, the communications they have are still with that deep space network. So that means that Australia is absolutely fundamental to that communication with deep space."
He said that Australia undertook the same support role in the Apollo mission to the moon 50 years ago.
Since then, however, Australia's space activity has not progressed "very far", he added.
"It is now possible to consider the space industry as a career in Australia, where 10 years ago, that was probably not the case," he said.
"So, in that case, there have been positive developments, but when it comes to our collaboration with NASA on this mission, that aspect of it just hasn't progressed much over 50 years."
Enrico Palermo, the head of the Australian Space Agency, told SBS News the latest mission is the start of more "expansive" contributions from Australia to space travel.
He pointed to several programs supported by the ASA.
"We have Australian companies, organisations and universities working on how we can grow plants on the moon, which will spin back to food security and water scarcity type problems here," he said.
"We have other companies using technology to help landers land on the moon. And then we have other companies working on how you can look for water ice and critical minerals below the subsurface."
What's next for Australia's space industry?
Palermo said the Artemis series of missions is helping to shape Australia's space industry.
"This new phase is an opportunity for industry. Its manufacturing here and jobs here," he said.
"It’s a great return for the economy as we look to the future."
Iles said that further government investment is needed to create the ground infrastructure and train personnel to expand Australia's space industry.
She said the naming of astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg as Australian of the Year shows there is political will to further Australia's space capabilities and support Australian astronauts.
"The announcement of the Australian of the Year as being an astronaut gives us that momentum and that energy to train not just that one astronaut but train the 3000 people that are needed to put her into space," she said.
"And then that sets up a proper foundation and some proper groundwork so that we cannot just send one person into space but have a pipeline of Australians going into space."
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