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Earth-bound Artemis Crew Tests Spacesuits, Manual Piloting Control
The Artemis II crew – (clockwise from left) Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman and Pilot Victor Glover – pause for a group photo with their zero gravity indicator “Rise,” inside the Orion spacecraft on their way home.
HOUSTON — With the Moon in their rearview mirror, the Artemis II astronauts returned to technology demonstrations and operational tests related to future human deep-space travel as their Orion spaceship headed toward an April 10 splashdown.
Once again in the embrace of the Earth’s gravity, Orion is on a trajectory for a projected reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere and parachuted-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego at 8:06 p.m. EDT to bring the nine-day Artemis II flight test to a close.
Aboard the spacecraft, named Integrity, are NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen.“We are pretty focused on making sure they get home safely,” Lori Glaze, NASA’s Artemis Program lead, told reporters on April 7.
Earlier that day, the U.S. Navy’s USS John P. Murtha recovery vessel departed its San Diego port and headed toward a 547-mi.-long corridor where Integrity was due to splash down. The recovery ship’s position within that zone can be adjusted depending on forecasted weather conditions, although the preferred location closest to the San Diego coast was expected to be acceptable, according to NASA’s Rick Henfling, Artemis II entry flight director.
As Integrity headed toward its Mach 32 return into Earth’s atmosphere, images and recorded audio notes from the crew’s seven-hour lunar flyby on April 6 continued to be downlinked to the Artemis II science team for analysis.
Aboard the spaceship, the astronauts took turns donning a crew survival system spacesuit undergarment to evaluate its effectiveness in helping them maintain their blood pressure and circulation.
“After extended time in microgravity, some astronauts experience orthostatic intolerance, a condition that can make it difficult to stand upright without dizziness or fainting,” according to a NASA summary of the activity. “The garment applies lower body compression to counteract this effect and support a safe return.”
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