Commander Reid Wiseman said the four-person crew’s goal is to pave the way for future lunar landings and missions deeper into the solar system.
HOUSTON—Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman told reporters that he hoped his upcoming historic mission around the moon would be ultimately “forgotten” due to it successfully opening the door for more impressive, historic missions.
“I hope we’re forgotten,” he said on Sept. 24. ”If we are forgotten, then Artemis has been successful. We have humans on Mars. We have humans out on the moons of Saturn. We are expanding into the solar system.”
Wiseman’s comment summarized the whole crew’s consensus that, despite the historic nature of their mission, their passion and focus remained strictly on their mission objectives, and their success was ultimately tied to Artemis III’s success. Artemis III is set to be the first of the program to land on the lunar surface.
Artemis II pilot Victor Glover said, “Our mission success is built on handing off a starting point to Artemis III that sets our country and our partners up to go back to the surface of the moon.”
Wiseman and Glover spoke to members of the press at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, with their fellow crewmates, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency.
Aboard the Orion capsule, which they named Integrity, the four will embark on a mission of several firsts. The first crew to fly the Orion crew capsule and service module, and the Space Launch System. The first mission to travel around the moon in more than 50 years.
Their mission will mark the first time humans are simultaneously in low Earth orbit and flying to and around the moon. The crew plans to speak with their colleagues on the International Space Station while they are in lunar orbit.
Depending on the launch date, the crew will also have the opportunity to be the first humans to ever see regions of the far side of the moon that were hidden in shadow during the days of Apollo.
There are also breakable records at play. Artemis II has the potential to travel farther from Earth and faster than any of the Apollo missions.
But the crew emphasized that Artemis II was first and foremost a test flight in every aspect of the Orion spacecraft, from manually executing a rendezvous procedure in high Earth orbit, to using a brand-new form of onboard exercise equipment. They are also focused on the various scientific experiments they will bring on board, as well as the lunar geological observations they will make and relay to a science team on the ground.
By T.J. Muscaro
