On April 7, science reporter Ivan Semeniuk answered reader questions<\/a> about the Artemis II mission, what it hopes to accomplish, and the science behind this incredible feat. Readers asked about each astronaut\u2019s role in the mission, how they\u2019re staying healthy, and the future of moon travel. Here\u2019s a transcript from the Q&A.<\/p>\n Artemis II mission offers a live view of planetary science in action<\/a><\/p>\n Could you start by telling us a little bit about your coverage of the Artemis II mission?<\/p>\n Ivan Semeniuk: Sure, in a sense the Globe\u2019s coverage of this mission began back in 2018<\/a>, even before Artemis was named. But when it was clear that the U.S. space program was kind of recommitting to sending astronauts back to the moon and it was looking for international partners to join on the venture. By 2020, Canada had negotiated a partnership and by then Artemis had a name and it had a more clear direction.<\/p>\n Canada became a partner at that point and as part of joining into the program was going to provide some hardware for a lunar station that is now no longer going to be built, or not right away. But in return, there would be a couple of flights for Canadian astronauts.<\/p>\n Jeremy Hansen was selected as an Artemis II astronaut in the spring of 2023. So it was by then that we were kind of following more closely the training regimen and the overall mission plan. And it really picked up, I would say, last year, even though the mission was getting delayed a little bit for technical and other reasons, we\u2019ve been following pretty closely for the past year.<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n NASA’s Artemis II mission lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on April 1.Joe Skipper\/Reuters<\/p>\n You were at the Artemis II takeoff last week in the United States. Could you tell us a little bit about what that was like?<\/p>\n Semeniuk: It was incredibly tense. You know, this is the first time people have been on board for the launch of NASA\u2019s SLS rocket. SLS stands for Space Launch System. There had been one previous launch, that\u2019s Artemis I, in late 2022, basically launching with an empty capsule.<\/p>\n So now you\u2019ve got four astronauts on board. Everyone knows that there\u2019s a huge amount riding on this for the crew, for the mission, and also for the entire Artemis program, which has certainly had its challenges over the years and many, many delays. So some pressure to get this mission and the program going. All of that is in the background. And of course, there\u2019s always this sense like, is the rocket really going to go? <\/p>\n Suddenly on the day of, the weather was looking mostly favourable. The sky was turning blue, and the countdown picked up and it was on and there was this sense almost of being at the top of a roller coaster and about to plunge down the hill. The speed at which things were unfolding suddenly became very fast. <\/p>\n As the clock ticked down, no delay, no pause, all systems go. It was quite remarkable. And suddenly, you could see the propellant billowing from the bottom of the rocket. And you could see it start to rise from the launch tower. At that moment, you\u2019re really just hoping for the very best. And then you see that flame. It is so incredibly bright as you watch this thing gradually pushing the stacked rocket into the sky. <\/p>\n And it took some time before the sound finally reached us. Then the sound was deafening. It was like a low rumble that you felt through your body. You just thought at one point it was just going to burst your eardrums. And then up and up and up it went.<\/p>\n And for three full minutes, we could just watch it disappearing into the blue. It kind of went up high, arced to the east, and then like just a fading spark disappearing off into the blue sky. It was a phenomenal sight.<\/p>\n What are the specific roles of each of the astronauts on the mission and what tasks or experiments will they perform during the mission?<\/p>\n Semeniuk: The primary function of this mission is to basically be the product testers for this Orion capsule \u2013 to put it through its paces to see how suitable it is for deep space flight. Deep space meaning going beyond low Earth orbit. So the environmental controls, all the life support systems, maneuvering and so on. <\/p>\n By the time they got to the moon, it really was a very egalitarian kind of situation because the stock for scientists was to have as many pairs of eyes on the moon\u2019s surface as possible during the window at which they were closest to the moon. They kept looking out the window with cameras and with their eyes, making verbal descriptions, taking notes, going through a target list with their photos, on and off for basically six hours. So I would say for the most part we\u2019ve seen the astronauts all doing different things, but everyone has something to do at all times, and it really has to do with how they get through that checklist.<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n The NASA Artemis II crew pose for a group photo inside the Orion spacecraft on April 6.NASA\/Reuters<\/p>\n It is my understanding that one of the goals of the mission is to better understand the health impacts of deep space travel on the crew. How much can we extrapolate from a few days\u2019 data and how relevant would that information be when planning for another long-term mission like going to Mars?<\/p>\n Semeniuk: It\u2019s true that relative to long duration flights on the space station, where astronauts could be up in space for hundreds of days, this is only 10 days. So you might wonder how much exposure will really affect them. There is a big difference though. <\/p>\n Astronauts who go to the International Space Station are really only about 400 kilometres above Earth\u2019s surface, so they\u2019re in a very tight orbit around the Earth. They\u2019re well ensconced within Earth\u2019s magnetic field, so they\u2019re largely protected from the kind of hard particle radiation that\u2019s coming from the Sun through the solar wind. The Artemis astronauts, by going to the moon, are mostly outside of Earth\u2019s magnetic field, so they\u2019re getting a higher radiation dose in that period of time compared to astronauts on the space station, even though they\u2019re only going to be weightless for about 10 days. <\/p>\n But the radiation, the weightlessness, all of those things do have effects. They can be measured and extrapolated forward as well. And of course, if there\u2019s going to be a sense, as NASA has said, that they\u2019re pivoting to the moon and wanting to increase the cadence of activities on the lunar surface, these are all important medical opportunities to get a sense of what they might expect when people are going to the moon and perhaps staying longer.<\/p>\n
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