The Stars My Destination: Artemis II Flyby

Better Late than Never | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Destination Moon
3-9 April 2026: During the flight toward the Moon, the Integrity conducted only one of three planned trajectory correction burns. Wiseman, Glover, Koch, & Hansen tested their Orion Crew Survival Suits & maneuvered the Integrity to gather additional spacecraft handling data. They also had much publicized trouble with the zero-gravity toilet, the issue seemingly being urine freezing in the vent lines. Similar minor problems were encountered throughout the Space Shuttle era.

The quartet approached to within 4,067 miles of the lunar surface & set a new record for the farthest distance humans have flown from Earth, 252,756 miles, surpassing Apollo 13's record from 1970. During the forty minute communications blackout, when the Moon blocked any signals to or from Mission Control on Earth, they ate maple leaf cream cookies that had been packed by the Canadian Space Agency.

Wiseman, Glover, Koch, & Hansen proposed names for two previously unnamed craters: Integrity, after their Orion Crew Module, & Carroll, after Reid Wiseman's late wife, Carroll Wiseman, who died from cancer in 2020. The names are unofficial until approved by the International Astronomical Union. After emerging from behind the Moon, the intrepid foursome witnessed & photographed a solar eclipse. They conveyed their impressions & observations about the Moon to scientists back on Earth, the human mind & senses being the most exquisite scientific instruments aboard the Integrity.

The Artemis II astronauts shared a call with their N.A.S.A. & E.S.A. colleagues flying on the U.S. Orbital Segment of the International Space Station: Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, & Sophie Adenot of Crew-12 & Chris Williams of Soyuz MS-28. The veteran astronauts of Artemis II—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, & Christina Koch—had all flown on long-duration Expeditions to the I.S.S.; only Jeremy Hansen never visited the orbital laboratory.

Two correction burns on flight days seven & nine refined the Integrity's trajectory back toward atmospheric re-entry. A small helium leak on the European Service Module led to the cancellation of manual flight maneuevers, though it was not serious enough to endanger the crew. Helium is not a fuel burned during Orion operations, but is used to pressurize the fuel lines & facilitate the smooth delivery of fuel to the thrusters.

Bonus! Destination Moon Song o' the Day: Artemis II
Glenn Miller, "Moon Love" from the Glenn Miller's 50 Finest compilation (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Say you'll be mine when the Moon disappears…"

Commentary: During the Earthbound leg of the Integrity's voyage, the crew revealed a double-sided version of their mission patch, the reverse side swapping the positions & sizes of the Earth & the Moon, & lacking the crew names.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the Artemis Program
2014
"The Explorers' Club," № MLXI: The 10th Anniversary of Exploration Flight Test-1
2022
Artemis I Launch
Artemis I Orbit
Artemis I Splashdown
The 1st Anniversary of Artemis I
2026
Artemis II Launch

Thank you for the "Moon joy," Artemis II!

Ex Luna, scientia.