What NASA chief Jared Isaacman is looking for in the coming days as Artemis II loops around the moon
CBS News • • general
Key Points:
- NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman highlighted the Artemis II mission as a crucial test flight to gather data on the Orion spacecraft's life support system, marking the first time humans are onboard this vehicle.
- The Artemis II crew, launched last week, will surpass the Apollo 13 record for the farthest distance from Earth and become the first humans to observe parts of the moon's far side.
- Artemis II aims to inform future missions, particularly Artemis III in 2027, which will test lunar landers, and Artemis IV in 2028, which plans to return American astronauts to the lunar surface.
- The spacecraft is expected to lose communication with Earth for about 40 minutes while orbiting the moon's far side, a routine occurrence that astronauts are trained to handle.
- Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur and veteran private astronaut, emphasized the importance of monitoring the spacecraft's life support and thermal protection systems to ensure the crew's safe return.
