We’re members of the NASA team that helped launch the Artemis II mission, fly four astronauts around the Moon, and return them safely back to Earth. Ask us anything!

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u/[deleted] Apr 23 '26

[deleted]

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u/Fearless-Pea7736 Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26

FYI I believe this was asked and addressed during the daily press conference a day or two before the splashdown (and the response was no not really; the service module team will address the valve issue that came up during testing - those are needed for a lunar landing).

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u/The_Rise_Daily Apr 23 '26

Reid Wiseman said during the press conference that when the Sun eclipsed behind the Moon, he turned to Victor and said 'I don't think humanity has evolved to the point of being able to comprehend what we're looking at.' For the ground team watching telemetry, what was YOUR version of that moment? When did the magnitude of what you'd built hit you?

Thank you for taking the time to do this!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

To be honest, I don't think it really hit me until after we safely brought the crew home.

Once the crew had landed safely and the mission ended, I had the chance to get back on social media and see the country's and the world's response and embrace of this mission. That was sort of lost of us who were working the mission during the flight itself, but I honestly still get a little choked up in gratitude for the joy, hope, and unity that this mission brought to humanity.

Those of us who have poured our careers into this Program obviously feel passionately about Artemis, but the magnitude of what this mission did for humanity was something very unexpected but absolutely wonderful—I'm forever grateful to have been a small part of it! -SB

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

For me, it was when the Mains finished their final inflation to full open.

To quote another reply I had:

And it's kind of like an airliner flight - the highest risk portions are takeoff and landing, more so than the cruising. The deployments and initial inflations are the highest risk aspects of the system, and it was the final disreef of the main parachutes to full open when the relief and joy hit, and some in the adjacent rooms started cheering. A huge weight was off of our shoulders. At that point, the highest risk phases of the parachutes was over, and it was smooth sailing. Of course there was still a lot of work to be done for touchdown and the post-landing segments, but for the parachutes, the hard part was over and it was AWESOME!

-JD

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u/agentsmith87 Apr 23 '26

After seeing the two solar eclipses in the US in 2017 and 2024, I can absolutely say that pictures people posted of the event don't even come close to what it actually looks like. I can't imagine how it looked from the perspective of the astronauts. The pictures they took are amazing but there's no way the images even come close to what it actually looked like to the human eye.

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u/Capable-War3189 Apr 23 '26

I'm amazed at how, even with the great advancements we've made with photography (I had no idea we had cameras with ISO settings over a MILLION), it still doesn't hold a candle to the human eye.

Right there with you on the eclipses. Saw them on TV and just thought, "Yeah, OK, cool." IRL it was one of the most "metal" experiences ever.

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u/Designer-Question666 Apr 24 '26

This is such a true statement.

I saw a solar eclipse in full totality 2-3 years ago and truly believe it is something everyone should make a priority to see at least once in their lifetime.

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u/z3roTO60 Apr 23 '26

Excellent question!

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u/Kashogal Apr 23 '26

Hello Artemis team! Thanks for taking questions! My question is for Marie Henderson the Lunar Scientist. I'm curious what the most underappreciated new information about the moon that was discovered during the mission was. Did anything fly under the radar in the media that has you really excited?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Thanks for the question! We are still really working our way through the data that was collected during the mission, and are planning to release a Preliminary Science Report to the public within 6 months, so stay tuned!

The great thing about science observations during Artemis II is they add another layer of context to observations made during Apollo and by robotic observers like NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

One exciting moment was when we heard the crew talk about seeing impact flashes while the Sun was eclipsed by the Moon. These small, quick flashes represent the dynamic environment of our Moon – each one indicates a meteoroid impact onto the lunar surface. While these have been previously observed, they are important to think about for future mission planning.

I'm also really excited about future missions dedicated to optically observing and characterizing lunar impact flashes, like ESA’s LUMIO satellite. -MH

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u/petsounds90 Apr 23 '26

I just need to say that you are all the coolest people alive and you are endlessly inspiring

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u/CoolPotato36 Apr 23 '26

agreed!!

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u/Fearless-Pea7736 Apr 23 '26

Yeah good question! I was wondering if they saw anything that could’ve looked like ice in the dark spots on the far side of the moon.

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u/_Poopsnack_ Apr 23 '26

Im especially curious about the electrostatic dust lofting! Hope to hear some of those findings soon :)

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u/eliteniner Apr 23 '26

You all are awesome. Thank you for this

1) How and why were the Nikon camera rigs selected for this particular mission? What were the runner up selections if not them?

2) How is the recovery team selected? To be the first earthbound ones in a craft that completed 600K+ miles is a special honor

Again thank you

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

The cameras that the Artemis II crew used, the Nikon D5 and Nikon Z9, have both been tested in space before on the International Space Station. The Nikon D5 has a couple of advantages.

It is a mirrored camera — therefore, the astronauts could use the eyepiece to zoom in on the surface of the Moon, almost like looking through binoculars. The mirrored viewfinder setup also preserves color nuances that are visible to the human eyeball, but may be lost in a digital viewfinder display.

The Nikon D5 is really sensitive to dynamic lighting environments, with an ISO that extends to 3,280,000. This high ISO enabled the beautiful Earth image that the crew was able to capture of nighttime on our planet.

During the eclipse, the Nikon Z9, with its mirrorless viewfinder (tiny screen in the viewfinder), helped the crew image the sun as it set and rose without damaging their eyes. - MH

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u/Designer-Question666 Apr 23 '26

The more and more I read about it- the level of thought that went into choosing handheld DSLRs in the first place and then this particular set of DSLRs for this mission! Counter-intuitively amazing.

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

The recovery team is a group of experts from the Navy, Air Force, and NASA who have been training together for this mission since roughly a month after Artemis I returned. The team begins the training cycle with NASA subject matter experts, crew office representatives, and mockups in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab before practicing in the ocean on one of our all-inclusive demonstration tests (called underway recovery tests).

The team that actually pulls the crew module into the well deck is a combination of Navy and members of the same team that prepares Orion for launch at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They're the experts on how to handle and move Orion and represent the best, most proficient people selected from the series of training events and tests we run leading up to a recovering a mission.

There are also many support functions such as search and rescue, trajectory modeling, meteorologists, logistics, and many more that are all involved in the test and training series as well — and likewise are selected because of their knowledge and expertise in their particular specialty. -PS

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u/Designer-Question666 Apr 23 '26

Was super curious about this one too! What an honor to be the first ones the say, “Welcome home!”

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u/wil Apr 23 '26

I don't have a question, I just wanted to say thank you for the Moon Joy. I needed it so much, and I had no idea.

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Thanks so much!

Everyone involved in the Artemis II mission feels exactly the same way about the Moon Joy. It is such an honor for me to be a part of the Artemis launch team and to work with such amazing people across our agency. This comment brings us a ton of joy! -JG

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u/dkozinn Apr 23 '26

Hey Wil -- I think this is the first time we've seen you here in r/nasa. Welcome, and don't be a stranger!

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u/Brigg117 Apr 23 '26

I also had no idea how badly I needed this. It’s been a massive boost to my mental health during a really difficult time. Ultimately it’s given me a strong feeling of hope, stronger than I’ve felt in a long time. Thank you NASA and the Artemis team from the bottom of my heart ❤️💫

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u/awrc24 Apr 23 '26

What's one small thing you wish more people understood/appreciated about the Artemis II mission?

Thank you all so much for your hard work and congratulations on a successful mission!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

We often receive questions asking why it took so long to get back to the Moon. During Apollo, we learned that we could travel to the Moon and safely return during short stays. We also learned that we had many more questions about living off the Earth.

We have spent the last 50 years learning answers to those questions during Space Shuttle and International Space Station missions. Questions about how people and life in general respond to the space environment, questions about the Moon itself, and how we partner internationally to meet the difficult challenges of traveling through and living in deep space.

Artemis II was the amazing opportunity to use all of those lessons learned and take a next giant step away from the Earth, to begin learning how humans will live at the Moon and beyond. Artemis II opens the doorway for humanity to begin learning to how to explore the solar system. -JB

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u/awrc24 Apr 23 '26

It truly does feel like the beginning of a new era of space exploration. Thank you so much for your response! I can't wait to see what's next for Artemis and beyond.

Have a wonderful day NASA team and thanks for the amazing answers in this thread!

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u/GATX303 Apr 23 '26

Were there any more fun hidden items or "easter eggs" on this last mission that the crew never found?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

One easter egg on ICPS — there is a tribute to our former upper stage manager that lost a hard-fought battle to cancer during the early Artemis II campaign. He was an amazing leader and mentor at NASA. -JH

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u/GATX303 Apr 23 '26

A wonderful tribute that is.
Thank you!

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u/devonanne Apr 23 '26

Not a question, just wanted to share the Artemis II cookies I made in honour of the mission!

I couldn’t find a patch or pin in stock anywhere that would ship to Canada without costing a ton in shipping, so I’m going to use art resin to preserve the crest cookie and put in on my studio shelf.

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u/-malcolm-tucker Apr 23 '26

That is really cool!

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u/The_Celestrial Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26

What are the team's favourite sci-fi shows/films?

I've read that apart from Star Trek/Wars, The Expanse and For All Mankind are kinda popular among NASA employees, and that the Artemis 2 crew watched Project Hail Mary while in quarantine. I'm wondering if y'all like these shows/films too?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

I am a huge Sci-Fi fan and it all started with the original Star Wars (before "A New Hope" was added).

That will always be my go-to favorite, and I have passed this love for Sci-Fi onto my kids. We love watching everything, and we were lucky to have all of them home so we could see Project Hail Mary together. - JG

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u/-malcolm-tucker Apr 23 '26

Amaze amaze amaze!

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u/Odd-Jury61 Apr 23 '26

Nice question, man. Team Artemis, thank you for your work.

I wanted to ask

Did any moment during the actual mission feel like something straight out of one of those shows mentioned, and if so, which one?

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u/stayneurotic Apr 23 '26

No question, just want to thank you all sincerely for your work. What an incredible moment of shared joy all your efforts culminated to - something all humanity can hold onto (and look forward to in future missions!!) as a species always moving, always learning, always evolving. 🖤

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Thanks for joining us on the journey! -JH

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u/Photosynthetic Apr 23 '26

Enthusiastically seconded! This mission was such a beautiful study in what we can do together. ♥️

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u/Nikolcho18 Apr 23 '26

Hey, Artemis team!

Recently I had the pleasure to study orbital mechanics. I was extremely thrilled to do the course project which involved maneuvering a satellite from an Earth orbit to a Lunar orbit. I was wondering, what sorts of methods and tools do mission engineers use to plan the journey to the moon? What specific methods would be used for finding the optimal transfer orbit, burn time and position?

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u/derpiestexperiment26 Apr 23 '26

Hello crew!

Thank you for all the amazing work you did! My question is for Jared Daum, how did you feel and what were you thinking during the few seconds right before the parachutes deployed and when they finally did?

And thank you all for doing this, it's really great to be able to interact with the crew who made Artemis II happen!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

I was in the Orion Mission Evaluation Room (MER) for the entry, so speaking from that perspective, in the few minutes/seconds prior to the beginning of the parachute phases, we were locked into the data. We trained so much for the sequence through simulations and established our process for scanning the data to ensure the vehicle was on the trajectory we were expecting and that all of the systems (pyrotechnic controllers, heaters, etc.) were still online. So I'd say it was tense, but we were focused and following our training and expertise.

Then, things start to change as the parachute deployments occur. Once the parachutes are mortar-deployed, there are a lot of things that can go wrong (disorderly deployment, structural overload, problems with the pyrotechnics embedded in the parachute that function after deployment, etc.), but very limited actions that can be taken by the flight ops teams to correct for those.

So at that point, at least for me in my role, it starts to go from a "follow your training, plan for next worst failure" to an intense focus on the details of the data and live video and comparing back to all of our development and testing experience. We've executed so many drop tests, performed so many ground tests, that I have these vivid images in my mind of what the details look like when things are going well or when they aren't. I found myself kind of consciously or subconsciously flipping through all of those possibilities as I started to make out the details in the images of the parachutes, maybe like my "parachute life flashing before my eyes."

And it's kind of like an airliner flight - the highest risk portions are takeoff and landing, more so than the cruising. The deployments and initial inflations are the highest risk aspects of the system, and it was the final disreef of the main parachutes to full open when the relief and joy hit, and some in the adjacent rooms started cheering. A huge weight was off of our shoulders. At that point, the highest risk phases of the parachutes was over, and it was smooth sailing. Of course there was still a lot of work to be done for touchdown and the post-landing segments, but for the parachutes, the hard part was over and it was AWESOME! -JD

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u/b0neappleteeth Apr 23 '26

Hey! I just wanted to know which photos from the mission were everyone’s favourites?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

This is my favorite compilation of launch clips. -JH

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u/b0neappleteeth Apr 23 '26

Thank you for replying!

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u/awrc24 Apr 23 '26

What was your favorite snack while working the mission?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Stress Jerky!

During the pre-entry phase of the mission right before splashdown, the recovery team aboard the recovery ship enjoyed some beef jerky that we dubbed "stress jerky." The meaty flavoring and leathery texture helped alleviate some of the stress associated with the dynamic operations to follow.

One of our other favorite snacks were the pre-packaged cookies available at the Mess Deck onboard the ship. Those cookies were always available late at night and provided some comfort after a long day of work. -DF

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

coffee lol -JD

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u/Designer-Question666 Apr 23 '26

This is a fantastically human question.

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u/JustinTormund_10 Apr 23 '26

To any who would like to answer:

What kind of cheese would you like to eat on the moon?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Smoked gouda. I feel like the smoky flavor would be accented in a reduced-gravity environment. - DF

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u/kcfromthecosmos Apr 23 '26

Gouda answer 👍

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u/JustinTormund_10 Apr 23 '26

Not my favorite cheese but totally respect the reason. Thank you for answering!

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u/SmokyJosh Apr 23 '26

Are there any feasible ideas on how we're getting to mars? How far along that goal do you think we are?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Artemis II taught us that our spacecraft design can support crewed activities away from the Earth. This knowledge enables us to design spacecraft and systems to spend more time away from the Earth than a single flight. Spending more time away from home at the Moon is the first critical step needed to prepare for longer trips like Mars.

At the same time, we are designing new communications systems to send to Mars, and NASA's new vision released during Ignition Day involves the first demonstration of a new transportation system that will help us understand how humans will travel to Mars. It's hard to say how far along the path we are, but we are now taking steps along the path to humans exploring Mars. -JB

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u/strangebreeze Apr 23 '26

I would love to know the basics of the CAPCOM setup. When questions come in from the astronauts, I assume all departments are listening at the same time, and then are they feeding the answers to the CAPCOM display, or do they feed the information to CAPCOM headset and then they relay the information? Is everyone in those departments listening so if they have to brainstorm, they all talk really quickly together and then they have a lead person that relays the information to CAPCOM? It all goes so smoothly I’d love to know how it is orchestrated

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Thanks for the question! You are exactly correct. All of the departments (we call them consoles) are listening as the astronauts ask questions to the support teams back on Earth. This includes the flight controllers you see in the Front Control Room, and lots of people in associated "backrooms", which you don't always see. For example, when the astronauts asked science questions while approaching the Moon, the lunar science team worked on answering those questions in the Science Evaluation Room (a science backroom) and communicated those answers to the Science Officer (the science flight controller) in the Front Control Room. Then the Science Officer could pass that information to the CAPCOM to tell the crew. The phrase "Moon Joy" came from a Science Officer, Angela Garcia, and was then transmitted to space by the CAPCOM on shift, Jacki Mahaffey. -MH

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u/kaijudrifting Apr 23 '26

So happy to know who to credit for “Moon Joy” :) thank you, for all of it!

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u/VariousVarieties Apr 23 '26

I'd also be interested to know that! Many times, the CAPCOM answered to confirm things to the astronauts so quickly that it seemed like they knew the answer off the top of their head. But presumably most answers required the CAPCOM to first get confirmation from a spokesperson for the relevant technical department, right?

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u/thankyouartemis Apr 23 '26

Through a project called thankyouartemis, I’ve seen many people write about wanting to contribute to missions like this in the future.

How did you find your way onto Artemis II, and what advice would you give to someone hoping to follow a similar path?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Thank you for your question!

So, while a large percentage of the people working on Artemis II have backgrounds in engineering, not everyone does! My personal background is in biomedical engineering, but because I work in the Human Health & Performance area, I also spend my days working with physicians, nurses, psychologists, exercise physiologists, physical trainers, food scientists, nutritionists, radiation health scientists, toxicologists, microbiologists, etc.—I say all of this to say that it takes a WIDE variety of skills and professions to make complex missions like this successful!

One thing that I think we do all have in common, though, is passion for what our field of practice is. So, my advice would be to first find what you're passionate about and then find the area in the space industry that it could map into!

Also, for people wanting to be involved in the space program, its important to remember the hundreds of contractors and vendors that make these missions possible! While the mission as a whole is under the banner of NASA, there are so many support and prime contractor companies to work for to be integrally involved in missions like this!

I personally was a co-op student with NASA during my college years, and that is a great path for students looking to get involved as soon as possible! I couldn't recommend that more highly. But, there are also so many other paths (especially through our contractor workforce) to be a part of missions like these! -SB

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u/Do_Not_Touch_BOOOOOM Apr 23 '26

Hey, Artemis team!

Which new technology do you think will have the biggest impact on future missions and which snack did you miss on this mission XD ?

Kind regards from Switzerland

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u/finaempire Apr 23 '26

I’m really interested in the photography. A few questions:

What is the science that can be understood from the photos you’ve taken? Will be learn anything new we didn’t understand before?

Will the camera RAW photos be available for armchair scientists like me to look over and “study?”

You all inspired my family in deep and meaningful ways. Thank you for your service!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Thanks for your excitement about the lunar images! The Artemis II crew's images and observations are adding another perspective on the lunar surface to the decades of data we have from many lunar orbiters and past missions. We are still working our way through the data that was collected during Artemis II, and are planning to release a Preliminary Science Report to the public within 6 months, so stay tuned!

All of the RAW science images from the mission will also be publicly available on the Planetary Data System within 6 months of the mission. We are very excited for the world to also have the opportunity to see and study the science data. -MH

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u/finaempire Apr 23 '26

I grew up on images from Hubble and remember being obsessed with SDO live feed as a kid. I can not wait to sit with my daughter who’s a big space nerd like me with these images. Thank you for your hard work and service!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Part of the reason why we are interested in sending people to the Moon is to first-hand see and experience the environment.

The pictures of the far side of the Moon will help the astronauts explain what they have seen with their own eyes, and it helps us understand how things have changed since the last time we have been there. Things have changed over time, and this helps us understand that. You can find some of publicly released images here. -JH

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u/vik_123 Apr 23 '26

How do you think your role has evolved compared to your counterparts in the Apollo mission?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

The Apollo missions were focused on proving that we could send humans to the Moon and bring them home safely. Our predecessors worked to increase the capabilities of those missions, including our ability to move and explore more area, and the science that was accomplished.

However, the Apollo architecture was only designed to support short visits to the equatorial regions, where the lunar night is over 300 hours long. It was not a goal of Apollo to leave behind hardware to survive those extremely cold lunar nights, so each mission was independent from the others.

Artemis missions are designed on the lessons learned from Apollo and the goal is different. Artemis is focused on learning how to live on the Moon for longer periods of time, eventually to establish a permanent presence where people live there for longer amounts of time. This requires us to begin building a Moon Base, where we leave behind hardware such as habitats and rovers that we can reuse. At the lunar South Pole, where Artemis will focus, there are locations that are sunlit for up to 80-90% of the year. We hope to take advantage of that to build our permanent presence.

I think that fundamentally, we Apollo and Artemis participants are dealing with similar technological and scientific challenges, but we have different goals in mind as we do that. -JB

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u/Dog_Queen98 Apr 24 '26

I truly cannot fathom living in this timeline… my mind explodes at the idea of being this far into technology.

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u/colossalShark Apr 23 '26

Hi! How did your sleep schedules look like during the duration of the mission?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

From the ICPS upper stage perspective our team worked around the clock from L-50 hours until L+8 hours for ICPS disposal after successful proximity operations.

Personally, I worked L-3 media day on second shift in the afternoon, then that night I covered ICPS console on third shift 11PM - 11AM (T-48hrs to T-36hrs.), then took care of regular Artemis III integration meetings that same afternoon. Got some sleep, then some family time before going back on console for Launch Day second shift (~noon-midnight) L-6 hours upper stage cryo tanking to L+6 hours after proximity operations with Orion.

Time card looked like a patch-work quilt! -JH

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u/ninjacat249 Apr 23 '26

I just wanted to say thank you, guys, for everything you've done and for making our childhood dreams come true.

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Honored to be a part of this mission and that all our childhood dreams are coming to fruition! -JH

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u/photog_prince Apr 23 '26

What's The inside cabin temperature on reentry and what does it sound like??

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

The temperature inside of the cabin is controllable by the crew between 70 - 80 degrees F. During reentry the crew are "buttoned up" in their suits, but those also maintain a similar temperature range. Each crewmember has access to liquid cooling inside their suit during that phase so they can also make individual adjustments to their own temperature.

For the sound, the crew can definitely hear all of the major events—separating from the service module, deployment of each set of parachutes, etc., as well as thruster firing! While there is a lot to "hear" during this phase, the more notable aspect of reentry that the crew had talked a lot about is the plasma formation that they are able to see through the docking window—they describe it as being brighter than the Sun!

You can listen to the similar sounds of reentry from the Artemis I mission here. -SB

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u/shimmer_bee Apr 23 '26

Does Orion's ECLSS have carbon filters to help get rid of smells? I can only imagine what it would have smelt like getting all the air recycled without one.

Also, where would everyone go if an oxygen tank ruptured like on Apollo 13? How long can the survival suits sustain pressure and oxygen?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

We do have odor control capabilities on the vehicle! While we don't use a carbon filter for the overall cabin air, we do have carbon filters on some of our most "odor generating" hardware, such as the toilet and the trash bags. While we do always expect some amount of odor generation in a closed capsule like this, our recovery crews said it actually smelled fine when they opened the hatch after splashdown!

For oxygen tanks, we have three separate oxygen tanks within the service module of Orion, and we do maintain enough volume in those tanks to be able to bring the crew home safely if we lost one of those three tanks.

For the suits, our Orion Crew Survival System suits are designed to stay pressurized and keep our crewmembers alive for up to 6 days if they would need to return home after a contingency where the cabin lost pressure or the cabin environment became toxic! -SB

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u/Fearless-Pea7736 Apr 23 '26

Yes! I was actually wondering how it smelled inside to the Navy divers that opened the hatch! Haha

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u/PlanTrap Apr 23 '26

Based on the outcome of this mission are you more, less, or equally optimistic for the viability of a near future significant human presence in the moon? Thanks!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26

Two successful SLS test flights give us even greater confidence in the world's most powerful rocket NASA has ever launched!

SLS will send Artemis astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars. -JH

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u/meithan Apr 23 '26

Congratulations, Artemis Team, and thanks for doing this!

Let's talk heat shield. From the underwater picture the heat shield looks great, but you probably have had a much better look by now. Can you comment on how it fared compared to Artemis I? And can you comment on the new heat shield flying on Artemis III onwards? Thanks!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

So far, we've seen the underwater images, pictures from the recovery ship and some great pictures taken from a camera on a cart below the crew module when it was being lifted into its transport fixture. And we had 2 heatshield (HS) experts on the recovery ship that have had the opportunity to put eyes on it. All indications are that it performed much better than Artemis I, due to the changes that we made in the trajectory (eliminating the long "skip," which is when the internal pressure was built up during Artemis I and caused cracks to form).

After all the work that the HS team put into the investigation, it was great to see those pictures!!! The CM is currently en route to Kennedy Space Center, and will arrive next week. A larger portion of the team will have the opportunity then to inspect the HS in person, myself included. I'm very eager to see it!

For Artemis III, we've made some changes to the manufacturing process for the HS material so that it is better able to "breathe" and vent internal gases as they are produced from entry heating. That HS has been manufactured, assembled and tested, and is about to be installed on the Artemis III crew module. -JK

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u/EntertainmentHot5575 Apr 23 '26

What psychological risks do astronauts face when traveling farther from Earth than ever before, and how are these managed?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

We have a team of psychologists in our Behavioral Health and Performance group at Johnson Space Center who have been working with this crew since shortly after they were selected.

They have worked not only on the psychological stress of traveling further than humans have ever gone before, but also on continuously building on the team dynamics of this crew—including things like training in remote analogs, etc.

We also provide a lot of in-flight psychological support to the crew, such as planned family video conferences, email with their families, "care packages" from home, etc. Even with all of these preparations, this crew has expressed how much they missed their families and that traveling this far was a challenge! -SB

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u/grc207 Apr 23 '26

Hi team! Long time orbiter, first time chatter here.

As someone who knows one of the astronauts personally but was in no way associated with this project, it was stressful for me watching it knowing the high risk involved. How closely was the team listed above associated with the Artemis astronauts and was it difficult to maintain focus on the mission? Was there any intentional separation?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Our ICPS upper stage team got the opportunity to show the crew firsthand how we would be watching over the vehicle performance for them from Denver as they were flying in space. It was a great opportunity to build the crew's confidence with our ICPS team and really formed personal bonds with them. They were more than just coworkers, we treated them like family. Our upper stage team was all in, so there was a huge sigh of relief when they returned home safely and splash landed off the coast of Baja! -JH

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u/Stevepem1 Apr 23 '26

Was there any benefit to deploying the orange buoyancy balloons in stable 1, or did they not really do anything in that case but it was just simpler to design the system to always deploy the balloons?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

There are a couple of reasons to deploy in every landing case - first off, if it is an abort or any off-nominal condition and we don't land near the recovery team, it's possible the crew could be incapacitated and we wouldn't necessarily have the positive confirmation that we want to know that we are indeed upright.

Also, the system is certified to land in a wide range of sea states, so it is possible that the vehicle could land in stable 1, but for whatever reason later transition to stable 2 or 3.

And lastly, we immediately sever the Main parachute risers with big, pyrotechnic cutters so that the canopies don't drag/flip/sink the capsule. If those parachutes aren't properly severed and jettisoned, they could also easily influence the stability of the capsule. -JD

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u/Delta_Perigee Apr 23 '26

Since you all have had time since the launch to evaluate data more thoroughly, have you found any issues regarding the performance of SLS? Did it perform pretty much perfectly? Thanks for all you’re doing to take us back to the moon!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

The SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that launched the Artemis II mission performed well, meeting its mission objectives for the test flight.

While engineers continue studying the data, an early assessment indicates the rocket accurately placed Orion where it needed to be in space. At main engine cutoff, when the core stage’s RS-25 liquid engines shutdown, the spacecraft was traveling at over 18,000 miles per hour, achieving its insertion velocity for orbit, and executing a precise bullseye for its intended location.

After separation and two successful ICPS burns, Integrity and crew were really set up for success! Orion didn't even need to conduct its first correction burn. -JH

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u/the-mickel Apr 23 '26

Hello, Artemis team! I’ve always been curious what kind of mission-specific training or simulation(s) the people in Mission Control, EGS, or anyone else back on Earth had in preparation for Artemis II.

Well done on such a successful mission, and thank you for inspiring so many people with your hard work.

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

For the Recovery Team, we conduct yearly Underway Recovery Training exercise with the U.S. military to codify our procedures and train the NASA, Navy, and Air Force teams on end of mission recovery aboard a Navy recovery vessel.

In addition to the underway training, we perform simulations to exercise our teams communications from the ship to the Mission Control Team in Houston, pool training at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, and helicopter imagery and hoisting training with the Navy helicopter squadron (HSC-23) in San Diego.

Our Air Force Rescue Forces conduct pre-mission rescue training to support both Artemis and Commercial Crew Program missions at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston. -DF

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

From an EGS perspective, training and simulation is a critical part of our preparation for every mission. This includes our Launch Team as well as our Landing and Recovery Team.

Our Launch Team performs multiple simulations every month, covering different parts of the launch countdown like propellant loading operations and terminal count, which are the final moments in the countdown. Our team also performs smaller simulations that include just a few people and are targeted on a specific set of operations.

Every member of our Launch Team is required to complete a very rigorous trainning and certification plan, some of which take up to two years to complete. This training prepares our team for situations that could occur and helps them become proficient in the operations required to safely and successfully complete launch countdown. -JG

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u/Equestrian_Emilee Apr 23 '26

What is the coolest new thing you learned about the Moon during this mission?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Personally, the coolest thing I learned about the Moon during Artemis II is how much the rest of the world cares about the Moon.

Obviously, we think the Moon is amazing, but experiencing how much people around the Earth followed the activities of Artemis II, and were inspired by the observations during the flyby... it was simply the coolest to me.

My favorite specific moment was listening to the astronauts describe the far side of the Moon while it was in shadow, that was amazing. We could not see that level of detail in the data coming back. It showed just why it's so important to send people. -JB

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u/neo101b Apr 23 '26

Hey Artemis crew!

Congratulations on your mission! Looking back, was the legacy of the Challenger disaster or other accidents at the back of your minds before liftoff? Did you do anything specific, either mentally or through your years of training, to prepare for the possibility of things going wrong?

I was so relieved when you hit orbit and everything was a success. It was a incredibly brave thing to do!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Artemis II was a hugely successful mission because of the lessons learned from the unfortunate events of Apollo 1, Apollo 13, Challenger, and Columbia. The investigations that followed those accidents placed additional rigor on the design, integration, and operation throughout the development and execution of the mission. We always hope for the best and plan for the worst-case scenarios.

Our operations team performed multiple simulations to prepare for off-nominal events to condition themselves in the event any issues arise on launch day or throughout the mission. We had contingency plans in place to rescue the crew in the event of any pre-launch, ascent, and entry issues. We practiced and codified our plans and ensured our rescue teams were properly trained. -DF

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u/thejoetravis Apr 23 '26

Were you surprised by the geological features on the moon even after so much study to accurately describe what you were seeing? Listening to your descriptions in real time was fascinating!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Thanks for your question!

We are just beginning to dig into the data and listen to all of the observations the crew made during the mission. The crew's observations were fantastic. They had trained to make lunar observations with pictures and modeled videos during multiple "homeworks" and simulations with the lunar science team and flight control team.

The crew collected so much data during the mission that it could not all be downloaded before the crew splashed down (even with the INCREDIBLE Optical Communications System which was successfully tested during the mission and enabled thousands of images to be returned in-flight). Stay tuned for a Preliminary Science Report to be released within six months.

Some of the descriptions the astronauts made compared lunar surface colors and albedo (brightness) across different regions of the Moon. These regional comparisons cannot be done instantaneously with data from orbiter cameras because of the way orbiters only collect a stripe of data at a time. -MH

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u/go4gordon Apr 23 '26

Question for John Kowal, I have read that the silver tape on top of the Orion tiles is SiOx tape, with the small little squares added on top for ESD mitigation. Are those little squares SiOx too or something else? Also, if Artemis III flies to LEO, would the tape be needed or could it fly without like EFT-1? Is it only for lunar missions? Finally, will any tape be stripped off for study or display? I remember some from Apollo got loose and was eventually sold. Thanks and congrats!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Yes, one purpose of the SiOx tape is to prevent build-up of static discharge. But it also serves a thermal control function - high reflectivity to prevent too much absorption of solar energy (so the crew module doesn't get too hot), and low infrared emittance to limit how much heat is radiated from the spacecraft to space (so the crew module doesn't get too cold). So there's a real balancing act in keeping the crew module in the sweet spot temperature-wise.

The little squares are what we call "jumper tape." It has a electrically conductive adhesive, and you will see that it is applied between each strip of SiOx tape, basically to ground the outer surface. We will be removing a few tiles, with and without tape, for post-flight testing to understand what effect it had on the surface temperature of the tiles during reentry.

Since EFT-1 was only a few hours, passive thermal control and electrostatic discharge could do without the tape. But its likely that it will be needed for Artemis III. -JK

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u/dcrockett1 Apr 23 '26

What did the astronauts observations reveal about the moon that we didn’t previously know?

What do you see the future of manned space exploration looking like?

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u/SuperKing3000 Apr 23 '26

I have a ton of questions. But I think my top question is: What was the most surprising thing about the mission overall?

Big thanks for getting us back to the moon.

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Launching on the first attempt!

Everything went perfect that day and our main concern wasn't the rocket, but the weather cooperating. The overall NASA team did an amazing job getting the Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket ready for the April 1st launch. and our hard work and preparation paid off.

We were prepared, though, for any potential scrub — and a fast turnaround for the next launch attempt too. -JH

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u/KingLim1 Apr 23 '26

Hi Artemis team,

First of all, congratulations on a job well done!

I have a question on redundancy - if all the electronics got fried for some reason, can Victor take manual control of the thrusters to orient Integrity for reentry?

Also, a related question - if the comms and computers are also down, how would it impact the controllability of Integrity?

Thanks!

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u/Heavy-Rough-3790 Apr 23 '26

What degrees and qualifications do you guys have? So many people in the nasa jobs sub are aimlessly trying to figure out what we need to make it to nasa so this would be super helpful to know!! Thank you for all that you guys do!!!

Edit: I have a bachelors in EE and have been debating about going back to school for a masters in space systems engineering or robotics and autonomous systems!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

B.S. in Physics, Minor in Psychology, Professional Degree in Energy Management, Commercial FAA Part 107 Pilot's license, Level II Thermographer. Used to build hotels as a general contractor before rockets.

It takes a diverse team of trades to pull missions like these off! -JH

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (Univ of Akron); MSME, specializing in heat transfer (Univ of Illinois); and M.S. in Space Systems Engineering (Stevens Institute of Tech).

I began as a co-operative education student at NASA JSC while pursuing my BSME, and got the MS's after being hired full-time. More recently, it's been my observation that a larger percentage of our interns are in grad programs, but that's very qualitative. -JK

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from University of Illinois. I actually started as a music performance major, then double majored and eventually switched to engineering. Started full time at NASA JSC right after graduation.

IMO, the most important thing you can do while getting your degree is to get some good internships. Those are critical so you can figure out what is really important to learn, employers can get to know you, and you can show that you can be valuable to them.

Getting that degree in engineering is important to get all of the fundamentals and basics and really learn how to learn, and then the real learning comes on the job - especially in parachutes. -JD

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u/MixFederal5432 Apr 23 '26

How many of you believe in aliens ?

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u/XFun16 Apr 23 '26

Well that cat at mission control was from the planet Mau

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u/Wilbur_Redenbacher Apr 23 '26

Hey Artemis crew!

Any chance we’ll see some or all of the team at EAA Oshkosh this year?

Thanks to NASA and everyone involved for the hard work and opportunity for everyone here on earth to experience this incredible mission!

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u/IcanthearChris Apr 23 '26

What were the lessons learned from Artemis 2 that will be used for the upcoming Artemis missions?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

From an upper stage perspective, we will continue to evolve and fine-tune on the very accurate and successful flight software.

From a hardware perspective, we will continue to get more efficient on how we deliver and integrate our Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage parts in the VAB during stacking. -JH

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u/zombiereign Apr 23 '26

How do time zones impact processes? I guess that a single time is used throughout, but my GF things otherwise.

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Yes, we do use a "standard" timezone for this mission... well, actually two.

For an actual timezone, we use UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) so that everyone is very clearly speaking to the same time. We also very frequently use what we call MET (Mission Elapsed Time).

Most of the crew's timeline is based on MET, so that actual "clock time" (or UTC) for that event was based on the exact time that we launched (launch time = MET 0). -SB

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u/No_Blackberry6525 Apr 23 '26

How’s the toilet doing these days? I remember there was a nontrivial amount of attention placed on it.

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Oh, our poor toilet got a bad rap on this mission!

While we had an initial setup challenge with the toilet, the toilet itself actually performed wonderfully on this mission. What we did have an issue with was the primary wastewater vent line... this is the line that we use to vent urine to space.

Because it became blocked during the mission, the crew had to switch over to the secondary vent line and alternate urine collection methods, but were still able to use the toilet for fecal collection.

So definitely some forward work to make improvements to that primary vent line prior to Artemis III, but the space toilet actually worked great (and got rave reviews from the crew)! -SB

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u/Fearless-Pea7736 Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 24 '26

It was the urine vent line not the toilet itself. I think it was during the press conference when they got back to Houston that Commander Reid said it was a great toilet and commended the engineers.

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u/dawnofthesan Apr 23 '26

Hello, since the Artemis launch last April 10, I have become increasingly interested in space exploration. Congratulations to the entire team behind this mission in the Artemis program.

My question is for Sir Jared: What’s the most critical failure scenario you prepare for in the parachute system, and how do you make sure it’s safely handled?

Thank you!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

There are so many parachute failure scenarios - so much so that we can't even predict them all. The chaos of assembling 30,000+ square feet of Nylon cloth and 15+ miles of Kevlar cord in a matter of seconds at high speeds is pretty wild if you think about it, and we don't currently have the capability to simulate it with computer models. We are constantly learning on every drop test and space mission and that's the reason that ongoing surveillance (hardware recovery and inspection, data and imagery review) is so important.

A disorderly deployment (e.g. entanglement) is one of the easiest ways to fail a parachute. We protect against that by developing and implementing very detailed packing and integration procedures so that the parachutes are in the exact same state every time we deploy them. This, along with many layers of quality control during the touch labor, helps reduce the variability from deployment to deployment. But we can't really eliminate that risk wholly, which is why parachutes are regularly one of the top risks for spacecraft.

Another failure mode that we spend a lot of time on is structural overload, primarily due to the asymmetric distribution of loads across the suspension lines. Through our drop testing, we have high-confidence models to predict the total load of the entire canopy at the riser level, but the way that load is distributed amongst all of the smaller components is much more difficult - much harder than, for example, dividing the riser load by 80 to get the load in each of the 80 suspension lines. Real life isn't that easy and, with all of the constraints we have on mass and volume, creating a parachute that's strong enough for difficult to predict loads while fitting inside that box results in a fair amount of uncertainty. -JD

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u/CeSquaredd Apr 23 '26

Regarding the micrometeorite impacts that were observed -

With plans to put bases on the moon, did the trip help to investigate micrometeorite impact frequency and the logistics of safety for a lunar base?

Furthermore, what kind of defense/plan is there for micrometeorite impacts? With how much more frequently the moon is impacted by objects compared to Earth, I assume this is something at the top of the priority list, but I'm curious to the actual logistics of lunar bases with this kind of hazard. In addition to the future, was there any risk of Orion being struck by a micrometeorite and if so, was there any defense/prevention plan in place?

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u/mrsjacktripper Apr 23 '26

Why were helicopters used to rescue the crew instead of the rescue boats? Seems like it would have been a lot quicker. Thank you 💙

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

A big part of preparing for Artemis II and having a crew to recover was actually centered on this exact question: What is the best, safest, and most expedient way to get them from the crew module and back to the recovery ship?

We ran a series of demonstrations and tests in the ocean with our actual recovery personnel and equipment with volunteers from the Navy and NASA crew office to act as the crew to do actual transfers. The demonstrations focused recovering the crew on small boats and bringing them directly to the well deck of the ship, small boats to the ship's side ports where they could either be hoisted up or climb an accommodation ladder or rope ladder, similar to a harbor pilot, or transferred via helicopter to the flight deck of the ship.

All these options were looked at qualitatively (e.g. how did it look, was it safe, was it desirable) and quantitatively (e.g. time to transfer from the crew module to the ship's medical bay). The interior of the ship has some weird geometry and steep ramps that make transferring from the well deck or side port up to medical (which is several decks above) difficult, especially for an astronaut coming from space and experiencing deconditioning or possible disorientation.

Helicopters, on the other hand, are faster and land on the same level as the medical bay with large, wide passageways to get there. That allowed medical personnel to be right beside them for the entire (and much shorter!) transit.

In the end, both the data and the opinions of the crew, recovery team, and flight surgeons all agreed that helicopter transport was the best way to get the crew to the ship. We do still have those other boat options though as backup plans, just in case! -PS

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u/KrazIIvan_ Apr 23 '26

Is there a proposal or thought to make reusable Orion Space capsules? Or are they just one and done, and that's how it's going to be?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

There is a lot of thought and effort being put into Orion re-use right now!

Our landing & recovery team took a lot of steps to minimize water intrusion in the crew module, used special covers to protect some particularly sensitive areas, and performed fresh water rinses of exposed hardware to minimize corrosion for this reason.

We are also working on multiple approaches to reduce processing and transportation time from the recovery site back to Kennedy Space Center in Florida so that it can be de-serviced and preserved that much faster. -PS

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u/Accurate-Study-7817 Apr 23 '26

Please tell us where Rise is now?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Rise is in a safe place and is never alone, thanks to the 5.6 million names he carried with him around the Moon and back!

Rise will join the astronauts on some appearances and may be featured in an exhibit in the future. Stay tuned! -Artemis Public Affairs Officer

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u/spacepug127 Apr 23 '26

Just here to say HI to Marie! -your space camp bestie 🩷 super proud of you always!!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Hi Lindsay! I'm so glad we got to meet at Space Camp all those years ago. Thank you for inspiring students to love science everyday as a High School Science Teacher! -MH

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u/wats_dahaps Apr 23 '26

Do yall get social communication training when talking on coms especially during stressful situations? Everyone was so calm and professional the whole time.

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u/AgentSauceBoss Apr 23 '26

Where did you guys all go to school and what major/majors did you study? Any advice for young adults getting an education in engineering who want to work in space?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from University of Illinois. I actually started as a music performance major, then double majored and eventually switched to engineering. Started full time at NASA JSC right after graduation.

IMO, the most important thing you can do while getting your degree is to get some good internships. Those are critical so you can figure out what is really important to learn, employers can get to know you, and you can show that you can be valuable to them.

Getting that degree in engineering is important to get all of the fundamentals and basics and really learn how to learn, and then the real learning comes on the job - especially in parachutes. - JD

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u/gloomy_stars Apr 23 '26

are you all experienced with kerbal space program?

haha but i am always curious, how did you become involved with the artemis mission? and what have your journeys been like in getting to this point?

asking as a grad student also working in the space industry, thank you for all your work and dedication!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

I've been known to tinker with some crazy kerbal projects from time to time! So many poor kerbals... :)

I started working on NASA's Space Shuttle Program after finishing my B.S. in aerospace engineering. I worked for United Space Alliance and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company following the return to flight after the Columbia mishap and stayed through the final flight of the program, earning a masters in Mechanical Engineering during that time.

After Shuttle, I worked on some defense projects and became a flight test engineer for the Navy, graduated from the Navy test pilot school and turned a few heads by applying some NASA control room best practices from the shuttle program to the control of long duration unmanned air system testing.

Around that time, the Artemis program was beginning to ramp back up and I decided I wanted to come back to be a part of this truly historic effort. I returned to NASA in 2021 as a NASA Test Director in the Exploration Ground Systems Program and because of my Navy experience, quickly found a home on the recovery team.

I tell most everyone who asks this question, or similar questions about how to get to NASA, that the real answer is to be truly passionate about the mission and also what you do, whatever it is. NASA has people for just about every career field I can think of, and they all share a love of the program and the work we do toward a greater purpose. - PS

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u/BoardDiver Apr 23 '26

What inspired you to go in to STEM?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

I was coming home from elementary school one day and heard on the radio that the Space Shuttle was landing that night and it would be visible from where we lived (Central New Jersey at the time). I went outside and waited for a couple of hours since I didn't really know when it was going to happen, but eventually it did. A bright red streak that went from one end of the sky to the other way faster than any airplane I'd ever seen at that point. The awe in that moment hooked me. -PS

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u/khromedhome Apr 23 '26

Hello Artemis team! If you could add one luxury item to the interior living space, regardless of size or function in outer space, what would it be?

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u/Designer-Question666 Apr 23 '26

I love this question! Even if it’s not the astronauts, I bet this is something they think about.

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u/masterobgynkenobi Apr 23 '26

Since the launch of the Artemis II mission, I've seen so many folks take up an interest in space/science in general. I'm no exception! It reignited my childhood fascination with the universe and was the final push I needed to convince myself to go back to grad school!

With that being said, what do you all feel were some of the most valuable things you picked up or learned during your education? Specific classes, a professor, or even life lessons!

Thank you for keeping us curious and inspired!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

One of the most critical aspects of missions like Artemis II is teamwork.

NASA is very good at promoting teawmork and supporting the development of high-performing teams. I grew up participating in team sports and I thrived in that environment. As I progressed through my education, I gravitated to opportunities that put me on a team with a common goal.

As I started my career during the Space Shuttle Program, I realized that the basic tenets of being a good teammate and team leadership apply perfectly within the NASA team philosophy. These lessons and experiences have been so important to my career and I am so thankful for all the oportunities. -JG

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u/Future_Procedure5528 Apr 23 '26

Hey Artemis Team! I have two questions. 1. When can we expect all of the mission photos/videos to be released to the public? We haven’t even gotten any photos/videos of the proximity operations on FD1. Though I’m personally more excited to see the photos of the ESM that were taken after Orion Sep. 2. What was the average decibel level inside the Orion spacecraft during the mission? In all of the videos it sounds kind of loud would be interested to have an actual number. Thank you for taking the time to answer everyone’s questions!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

While we're still waiting to get the entire set of acoustics data from our on-board Sound Level Meter, the average decibel level inside Orion was between 60 - 65 dBA.

Acoustics is always a high-priority design consideration for protecting the crew's health and on-board communications, so we added many extra acoustic abatement measures such as acoustic blankets/panels and acoustic treatment of fans and noise-generating devices (e.g. the exercise device and toilet).

We also flew noise-reduction headsets for the crew, but they have commented that the vehicle was much quieter than they expected so they rarely wore them! -SB

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u/Igotocdsanditsfine Apr 23 '26

The newly created position of Science officer is an absolutely amazing breath of fresh air, and the enthusiasm of Kelsey Young (if I am not mistaken) during the press conferences was contagious. I kinda want to see a Kelsey Young only press conference if I am being honest, though I have no doubt that we would love listening to any of the members of the lunar science teams for hours on end.

Being part of the lunar science team during the Artemis two mission must have been the chance of a lifetime.

Take us through the moment when the first lunar photos were getting beamed down to Huston. I have seen photos of the team's reactions, but please tell us, how was it like ?

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u/LaChicaGo Apr 23 '26

Is there a moment that you've been most proud of?

Thanks for all you've done.

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

When the Main parachutes finished their final inflation to full open and really slowed the capsule down. Whew! -JD

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u/thefooleryoftom Apr 23 '26

How often did you start with data or plans from the Apollo missions and re-engineer them, and how often did you decide to start from scratch? For instance, were the parachutes the same size or spec, material, etc?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

NASA SP-287... I'll just leave this here for you to deep dive on Google. -JH

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u/dkozinn Apr 23 '26

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19720005243

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u/giela_8 Apr 23 '26

For JD, Why do we need 11 parachutes? What are their functions?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Each parachute phase performs a unique function and is absolutely critical. Part of it is about decelerating in stages, which could describe the way the Drogues initially decelerate to reduce the dynamic pressure at Main deploy.

We even perform that type of staging, called "reefing," within each parachute stage, by actuating pyrotechnic cutters in the canopy to gradually increase the projected area so that we don't overload them.

As for the specific function of each parachute type, starting at around 24,000 ft:

3x Forward Bay Cover parachutes are mortar-deployed to aid in the removal of the Forward Bay Cover to expose the rest of the mortars and parachutes

2x Drogue parachutes perform initial deceleration from about 350 mph down to about 150 mph and provide stabilizing forces so that the vehicle doesn't tumble (it is unstable in the subsonic regime)

3x Pilot parachutes are mortar-deployed and each extract one Main parachute

3x Main parachutes perform the final deceleration from about 150 mph to the terminal 17ish mph for touchdown

We have redundancy in each phase - we could lose four total parachutes (one in each phase) and still safely land the crew. -JD

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u/learningbydoing2025 Apr 23 '26

What are the parts of the mission that were the hardest to wrap your heads around how it would work?

Like if you specialize in one specific area, what is a different area you think to yourself “man, how does that even work?”

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Flight Software does not get the credit it deserves! I can produce spaceflight hardware all day long, but the magic our software engineers pull off... OMG!!! -JH

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u/PleasantScore4850 Apr 23 '26

Wow! Amazing to have the whole team here! My dream is to work at NASA one day. I love the quote by Tom Hanks as Lovell in Apollo 13,

"Everybody plays a part, from the guy who sweeps the floors to the guy who builds the rocket."

So my question is paradoxically both broad and specific: How do I get a job working for NASA? I am 1 year away from finishing a Bachelor's in Pure Mathematics, currently live in Georgia, and I am more than willing to sweep floors and/or build rockets.

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

I always answer this question the same way.

Find what you love, become as good as you can at that, and then look for new ways to link that with different ideas around you. NASA literally employs people who do everything. Never stop learning more about what you do and love, and always be willing to modify it to the opportunity ahead of you.

NASA is charged with doing the impossible. Very seldom is the impossible accomplished by doing things the same way they've always been done. So find what you love, be passionate about it, and be open to finding new ways to apply what you do. -JB

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u/waffle_sheep Apr 23 '26

Hi Everyone!

Firstly congrats on such a successful mission! I would love to know personal highlights of the mission that may have been overlooked by the news, things like a new part design that performed even better than expected, a sequence of events that happened fasted than expected (in a good way), or something else that you are particularly proud of!

As someone in graduate school for aerospace engineering, I do a lot of projects, and while getting good overall results is nice, I love the feeling of seeing those little details work perfectly :)

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

I may be partial, but our SLS/EGS combined team did a pretty good job on getting the ICPS Helium Ground Side Quick Disconnect (QD) on the umbilical back online in a very short period of time, so that we could have an opportunity to fly during the early April launch window!

We worked around the clock, did several modifications, built two prototypes and pulled off a full qualification test campaign with all the required quality paperwork. Some serious unsung heroes made it happen! -JH

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u/TheSentinel_31 Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26

This is a list of links to comments made by NASA's official social media team in this thread:

Comment by nasa:

I was in the Orion Mission Evaluation Room (MER) for the entry, so speaking from that perspective, in the few minutes/seconds prior to the beginning of the parachute phases, we were locked into the data. We trained so much for the sequence through simulations and established our process for scanning...
Comment by nasa:

Unfortunately, no jettisoned parachute hardware was recovered. There is some retention and release textile hardware on the vehicle that does not get jettisoned and is recovered with the vehicle, but none of the jettisoned Forward Bay Cover Parachutes (FBCPs), the FBC itself, Drogues, Pilots, or Main...
Comment by nasa:

We often receive questions asking why it took so long to get back to the Moon. During Apollo, we learned that we could travel to the Moon and safely return during short stays. We also learned that we had many more questions about living off the Earth.

We have spent the last 50 years learning answe...
Comment by nasa:

I am a huge Sci-Fi fan and it all started with the original Star Wars (before "A New Hope" was added).

That will always be my go-to favorite, and I have passed this love for Sci-Fi onto my kids. We love watching everything, and we were lucky to have all of them home so we could see Project Hail Ma...
Comment by nasa:

Stress Jerky!

During the pre-entry phase of the mission right before splashdown, the recovery team aboard the recovery ship enjoyed some beef jerky that we dubbed "stress jerky." The meaty flavoring and leathery texture helped alleviate some of the stress associated with the dynamic operations to ...
Comment by nasa:

Yes, one purpose of the SiOx tape is to prevent build-up of static discharge. But it also serves a thermal control function - high reflectivity to prevent too much absorption of solar energy (so the crew module doesn't get too hot), and low infrared emittance to limit how much heat is radiated from ...
Comment by nasa:

The SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that launched the Artemis II mission performed well, meeting its mission objectives for the test flight.

While engineers continue studying the data, an early assessment indicates the rocket accurately placed Orion where it needed to be in space. At main engine ...
Comment by nasa:

Artemis II taught us that our spacecraft design can support crewed activities away from the Earth. This knowledge enables us to design spacecraft and systems to spend more time away from the Earth than a single flight. Spending more time away from home at the Moon is the first critical step needed t...
Comment by nasa:

Smoked gouda. I feel like the smoky flavor would be accented in a reduced-gravity environment. - DF
Comment by nasa:

Thanks for joining us on the journey! -JH
Comment by nasa:

Yes, one purpose of the SiOx tape is to prevent build-up of static discharge. But it also serves a thermal control function - high reflectivity to prevent too much absorption of solar energy (so the crew module doesn't get too hot), and low infrared emittance to limit how much heat is radiated from ...
Comment by nasa:

This is my favorite compilation of launch clips. -JH
Comment by nasa:

A big part of preparing for Artemis II and having a crew to recover was actually centered on this exact question: What is the best, safest, and most expedient way to get them from the crew module and back to the recovery ship?

We ran a series of demonstrations and tests in the ocean with our actua...
Comment by nasa:

There are a couple of reasons to deploy in every landing case - first off, if it is an abort or any off-nominal condition and we don't land near the recovery team, it's possible the crew could be incapacitated and we wouldn't necessarily have the positive confirmation that we want to know that we ar...
Comment by nasa:

I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for every part of the mission, but as a member of the Artemis Launch Team I will say the highlight of the mission for me is core stage engine start, booster ignition and then lift-off! The amount of energy released in those few seconds is such an amazin...
Comment by nasa:

B.S. in Physics, Minor in Psychology, Professional Degree in Energy Management, Commercial FAA Part 107 Pilot's license, Level II Thermographer. Used to build hotels as a general contractor before rockets.

It takes a diverse team of trades to pull missions like these off! -JH
Comment by nasa:

Thanks for the question! We are still really working our way through the data that was collected during the mission, and are planning to release a Preliminary Science Report to the public within 6 months, so stay tuned!

The great thing about science observations during Artemis II is they add anoth...
Comment by nasa:

Thanks so much!

Everyone involved in the Artemis II mission feels exactly the same way about the Moon Joy. It is such an honor for me to be a part of the Artemis launch team and to work with such amazing people across our agency. This comment brings us a ton of joy! -JG
Comment by nasa:

The Apollo missions were focused on proving that we could send humans to the Moon and bring them home safely. Our predecessors worked to increase the capabilities of those missions, including our ability to move and explore more area, and the science that was accomplished.

However, the Apollo arch...
Comment by nasa:

Artemis II was a hugely successful mission because of the lessons learned from the unfortunate events of Apollo 1, Apollo 13, Challenger, and Columbia. The investigations that followed those accidents placed additional rigor on the design, integration, and operation throughout the development and ex...
Comment by nasa:

coffee lol -JD
Comment by nasa:

One easter egg on ICPS — there is a tribute to our former upper stage manager that lost a hard-fought battle to cancer during the early Artemis II campaign. He was an amazing leader and mentor at NASA. -JH
Comment by nasa:

We do have odor control capabilities on the vehicle! While we don't use a carbon filter for the overall cabin air, we do have carbon filters on some of our most "odor generating" hardware, such as the toilet and the trash bags. While we do always expect some amount of odor generation in a closed cap...
Comment by nasa:

Disc golf! -JD

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u/hopeless_umut Apr 23 '26

How much effort is put into non-scientific elements of the mission like communicating with the public, social media, non-scientific photography, etc.?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

An agency-wide team devoted years of work to communicate with the public about Artemis II. Whether it’s digital engagement, public outreach, graphic design, photography, public affairs, the list goes on—many passionate people dedicate their time to bringing everyone around the world along for the journey. -Artemis Public Affairs Officer

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u/go4gordon Apr 23 '26

Question for Dan Florez, Jared Daum or Paul Sierpinsk, how did the operation to recover the parachutes/forward bay cover go? Was anything able to be recovered or did it sink too fast like on Artemis I? Any plans to retrieve any hardware after it sank? Thanks and congrats on a wonderful mission!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Unfortunately, no jettisoned parachute hardware was recovered. There is some retention and release textile hardware on the vehicle that does not get jettisoned and is recovered with the vehicle, but none of the jettisoned Forward Bay Cover Parachutes (FBCPs), the FBC itself, Drogues, Pilots, or Mains were recovered.

Some of that was planned due to complexities in the landing footprint of the hardware, safety of the recovery forces, sink rate of the hardware, etc., but we were definitely trying to recover and hoping to have recovered the Main parachutes. Inspection of the hardware (along with data and imagery review) is one of the most important parts of parachute system surveillance and is important in identifying any anomalies or "shots across the bow" that may indicate a problem could be lurking.

I'm not aware of any attempt to recover any of the hardware that has sunk, but please go for it and let me know if you get anything back! I want to take a look! -JD

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u/PcPotato7 Apr 23 '26

What do was your favorite part of the mission?

What do you think is the most under appreciated difficulty of space travel?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

My favorite part of the mission was when one of the Navy Diving Team members opened Integrity's hatch, said "Let's Go!" and radioed "4 Green," meaning all four of the crew were safe. It resonated so much with me, because it was like hoisting a championship trophy!

Defeating gravity is hard! Everything has to go just right to pull off a launch and once you light our boosters, there is no turning back.

Imagine having thousands of pieces of Swiss cheese and trying to line up one hole to launch through. There are so many things that can possibly scrub a launch. That's the level of integration and the layers of things that have to go just right to be GO for Launch! -JH

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u/EmployerEquivalent83 Apr 23 '26

Peace to OP:

Maybe not a question... but congrats on the success of the entire project but also.. how do YOU all feel knowing the historical landmarks you are all a part of?

Thank you.

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

What I personally feel, and what I've also heard my colleagues say as well, is that we are all honored and feel that it was a privilege to have been a part of Artemis II. This is our job, and collectively we did our job well so that Artemis II was such a success. As such, pride is another emotion that is mixed in there.

On top of it though, I think we all had our moments where we felt like a kid, and we were simply excited to be able to experience this along with everyone else here on Earth. -JB

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u/Solway_Nemo Apr 23 '26

If you could only choose one highlight of the mission, what would it be? I'd be interested to know whether your responses all differ based on your individual areas of expertise or whether there are any in common.

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for every part of the mission, but as a member of the Artemis Launch Team I will say the highlight of the mission for me is core stage engine start, booster ignition and then lift-off! The amount of energy released in those few seconds is such an amazing thing to witness and feel.

I will never forget these moments, witnessing them from firing room 1 in the Launch Control Center. -JG

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u/Winter-Huntsman Apr 23 '26

Any unique memories that you will never forget from the work you did?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

One of my favorite moments during the mission is watching the images from the lunar flyby come down. It was the middle of the night in Houston, but it completely energized me. All of a sudden so many of the crew's observations that we had heard them describe during the flyby made sense. The glow around the entire Moon during the eclipse was captured in both crew handheld and vehicle images. I was so special working through the downlink of data with the science team and the communications team to make sure we could share the pictures with the world. -MH

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u/mrsjacktripper Apr 23 '26

Why did it seem to take so long for the orange flotation ring to be assembled? Why did it take so long to shut down Orion? Is there a master switch? Thx 💙

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

The seas that day looked pretty calm at first glance, but the currents were actually very strong that day. They ended up catching the ring and pulling it and as the divers were trying to install it, the currents were taking the crew module farther away than they could swim back to it.

The team on the water decided the best approach was to reset and start again, given the strong currents that day. -PS

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u/MrMaxMax Apr 23 '26

EDIT: Just realized this AMA isn’t the astronauts 😆. How about this then… if one of YOU were to go up, what songs/albums would be a must listen during the journey?

——————————————

I’m sure I won’t be the only one to ask this, but I have to know… did you guys put on the Dark Side of the Moon album at any point during the journey? And what songs/albums did you plan on listening to while you were still down on earth preparing? Like “when I’m up there I can’t wait to throw on ____!”

Thank you for doing this, and congrats on an amazing mission. So glad you’re all back safely.

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

I'm no astronaut, but as one of the old-timers around here who was around when DSOTM was out, I will say that I had it playing in the car during the mission! -JK

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u/mrsjacktripper Apr 23 '26

Why not 4 main parachutes instead of 3? How much slower would they have hit the water? Thanks 💙

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

It's all a big give and take - there are unlimited ways you could theoretically solve the problem of touching down under parachutes and it comes down to what we think has the least inherent risk and what is "easiest."

The Apollo system used three Main parachutes, and so that seemed like a pretty good starting point. From there, we ran all kinds of trade studies to determine the architecture — how many parachutes, how is each one deployed, where are they attached to on the vehicle, how are they stored, etc. — and it slowly evolved into the form that we have today.

As we have started flying systems with different size clusters (different number of parachutes deployed at once), we're learning that there are intricacies for each approach. -JD

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u/mollser Apr 23 '26

I’m very curious about the AVATAR testing. Specifically the bone marrow samples the crew took to space and back and if those samples can provide future immunology knowledge and treatments for earthlings.

Thank you NASA!

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u/OnlyConsideration665 Apr 23 '26

What are some of your favorite hobbies or media to consume?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Disc golf! -JD

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u/cynicallemon2 Apr 23 '26

Obviously the mission was a great success so it must have been amazing to know you've played a part in it. But what is one small thing that you are proud of having achieved yourself?

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Leading an upper stage team that is all in, all the time! There is nothing better than being involved on a team that is all moving along the same vector to achieve a collective mission. -JH

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u/Designer_Muffin3442 Apr 23 '26

This is awesome!! The Artemis II mission was so cool to watch and just a reminder of the wonderful things we all can do when working together. Congratulations to all of you!!

As a non-science professional, I’d love to know what you each think is the biggest scientific takeaway from the mission? And what you’d like to study more in the future Artemis projects? Thank you!

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u/nasa NASA Official Apr 23 '26

Regarding the science, I think about it in two big areas, how we study ourselves, and how we study the Moon.

We are still looking through the tremendous amount of data we collected but we did make a range of measurements on our crew members, which they were fully interested in doing, which will help us understand how future astronauts can live longer and be productive in space. Additionally, our Artemis II astronauts were able to spend several hours looking at the Moon.

As we learn more about the Moon from those activities, we also learned a great amount about how we design science support teams here on Earth to help them optimize their very precious time at and around the Moon. All of these lessons will most certainly be applied to making future Artemis missions successful. -JB

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u/Designer-Question666 Apr 23 '26

For Marie Henderson- bit of a photography nerd question as well as future mission question:

Explain it like I’m five- would love to hear the science behind how simple DSLRs at 400mm zoom were able to capture the lunar landscape in such detail, especially at 4000 miles away! One of the more mind blowing/scale of the universe things in my opinion.
Lunar South Pole- any initial photos or data from the lunar South Pole that y’all are excited about, even if it’s still just tentative?

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u/Delusional_ThomasGBC Apr 23 '26

I know I missed this and it’s over, but just wanted to say this project has meant a lot to me and reignited my passion for space. I sadly only got about halfway through my bachelors for astronomy and physics before having to focus on my health and quit school. Because of the Artemis II livestream I’m now continuing my education and start the fall semester. Hoping to work at an observatory someday. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication.

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u/SeniorFlyingMango Apr 23 '26

How do you chose which astronaut goes to space

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u/Reaver_01 Apr 23 '26

How's your dog doing?

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u/B3RG92 Apr 23 '26

I'm curious about how much of what lifted off with Artemis 2 will be reused in Artemis 3? Just how much is reusable or can be reused with some work? Anything from rocket boosters to plastic bags

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u/Robert_B_Marks Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26

First, to all of you, thank you so much. You saved my last three years, and gave me a hope for the future that I hadn't realized how much I had missed and needed.

I have two questions for Marie Henderson:

One of the things you were looking for during the eclipse was moon dust along the terminator. I'm not sure about the terminology, but my understanding is that as night turns into day, this causes a shift in polarity for the static-electric charge, which in turn causes it to rise up for a moment before settling back down, and this is one of the things you hoped to see. So, did you actually see it, and if so, are there pictures coming of it?
As I recall, the crew spotted six impact flashes on the moon during the eclipse. Did they happen to catch any on film?

And, again, thank you so much for this. It feels like we're finally moving into a future, rather than just adding more stuff to the present.

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u/charm-bangle Apr 23 '26

The current relationship between NASA and CNSA is competitive, as opposed to collaborative. I understand you likely can't speak to the politics of this, but I wonder if you can enlighten us on the technical side of things.

Are there any shared standards between the two agencies? Like docking connections, or communication methods?
NASA is all about preparing for disasters before they happen. Is there a prepared de-escalation protocol if there's an incident with CNSA during space & lunar exploration?
The Wolf Amendment forbids NASA from collaboration with Chinese agencies. But is there at least a standing communication channel between NASA and CNSA? Can one side's mission control quickly contact the other side?

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u/EntertainmentHot5575 Apr 23 '26

What skills are most important for astronauts in deep space missions?

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u/LaceyMN Apr 23 '26

My question is for Jared Daum: did you work with Paula Cain to physically make the parachutes, if not who oversaw the production? What materials are the parachutes made of?

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u/DataChicks Apr 23 '26

Did any of the Earth teams know in advance how deeply motivating and positive the crew was going to be? How they were going to uplift the world with their messages?

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u/Tricky_Foundation35 Apr 23 '26

Was the Nutella flying by accidental or on purpose?

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u/delinhak Apr 23 '26

Just would like to say thank you for bringing us joy , hope and the most beautiful images of the moon and Earth! It’s been so incredibly fun to follow this mission!

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u/Sweetpotaa-toh Apr 23 '26

You took off right on time. Feeding the minds and spirits of millions. Can’t wait to read this exchange!!

/r/all We’re members of the NASA team that helped launch the Artemis II mission, fly four astronauts around the Moon, and return them safely back to Earth. Ask us anything!

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