WASHINGTON — As Artemis 2 approaches the moon, NASA’s science team is finalizing plans for the observations they want the astronauts to make during their flight.
At an April 4 briefing, a representative of the mission’s science team said they were working to complete planned observations by astronauts on April 6, when the spacecraft orbits the moon on its free-return trajectory.
Kelsey Young, science flight operations chief for NASA’s Artemis internal science team, said the observation plan depends on what day the mission is launched during the launch period in early April because different parts of the moon will be in sunlight.
A science assessment room for the mission at Johnson Space Center has been working since the April 1 launch to finalize an observing plan. “The study the team is doing today is 80% of the solution. It’s a study guide,” he said. “Tonight, the final targeting plan will be uplinked to them and they will review it before takeoff.”
Artemis 2 is primarily a test flight of the Orion spacecraft, but NASA has attempted to incorporate science into the mission, focusing on lunar observations. While NASA has photographs of the Moon’s surface from missions such as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter at much better resolution than those obtained by Artemis 2, scientists still see value in any observations made by astronauts.
“Humans are really good at observing subtle colors,” Young said. He cited an example from Apollo 17, when astronaut Harrison Schmitt observed orange soil on the surface, which showed that there had been more recent volcanic activity on the Moon than previously thought.
“We want the crew to take time during their flight, adjust their eyes to what they’re seeing, and highlight one of those subtle color nuances, especially on distant parts that have never been seen by the human eye before,” he said.
In the weeks before launch, scientists also began planning observations during the eclipse, as the Sun disappears behind the Moon for 53 minutes during the Artemis 2 flyby. The Moon will block not only the Sun but also its corona part.
“We have science questions designed to look at solar activity at the time of the eclipse,” Young said. “They will be able to make unique observations.”
There will be plenty of features on the moon’s surface that scientists hope crews can see. He said, “If you ask 100 lunar scientists what their favorite features are, I’m sure you’ll get 100 different answers.”
A particular feature of interest is Mare Orientale, a large impact basin that extends across the near and far side of the Moon. “The crew is really excited about that goal and they’re really excited to understand its importance to lunar science,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to hearing their descriptions of Orientale, especially given the enthusiasm of the lunar science team and crew.”
Most of the science will be in the verbal descriptions that the astronauts provide. “Just the description of the lunar views, the lunar surface views, by this crew will give you goosebumps,” Young said.
At a public event just before the briefing, the Artemis 2 astronauts noted that as they got closer, they were already starting to see the far side of the moon.
“Last night, we got a view of the far side of the moon and it was absolutely spectacular,” Christina Koch said. “Something feels off about you that isn’t the moon I’m used to seeing.”
toilet maintenance
As Artemis 2 heads toward the Moon, the Orion spacecraft is doing pretty well. “The Orion spacecraft is in very good health and performing nominally on its way to the Moon,” Debbie Korth, NASA Orion deputy program manager, said at the briefing.
Controllers used cameras mounted on the ends of Orion’s solar arrays to visually inspect the spacecraft, which showed the spacecraft to be in good condition. “We did a side-by-side comparison with Artemis 1 and it looks much better than Artemis 1 at this point in the mission,” he said.
Orion’s trajectory remained so accurate that flight controllers canceled the second of three planned outbound correction maneuvers, which had been scheduled for April 4, after canceling the first on April 3.
“The Orion is doing great, we had great entry accuracy,” said flight director Judd Frayling. He later said they would likely conduct a third planned maneuver using the reaction control system thrusters on the Orion service module on April 5.
One issue that has been a problem for the crew is toilets. After the toilet problems were fixed shortly after the April 1 launch, flight controllers said on April 4 that the line draining waste water from the toilet into space was blocked, possibly due to ice accumulation. Controllers reoriented the spacecraft for a few hours to warm up that part of the spacecraft in hopes of melting the ice.
As of the afternoon briefing of 4 April, that work was in progress and the tank had been able to be partially emptied. The astronauts continued to use backup collection devices until the line was completely cleared and air was released from the tank. “We want to keep the tanks half full right now until we figure out what’s going on with the vent line,” Freeling said.
Korth said the ice accumulation was not unexpected, as similar accumulations of ice had been observed on some shuttle missions. “We’ve got to find ways to work through it. We just have to figure out how to point the vehicle where we need to heat the vent line while maintaining power output and thermal control”.
Agency officials ignored the inevitable jokes about toilet problems. “I think it’s human nature to pay attention to the toilet,” said John Honeycutt, chair of the Artemis 2 mission management team. “Everyone knows how important this is to us on Earth, and it’s harder to manage in space.”
