The National Aeronautics and Space Administration oversees the Artemis II space mission, a 10-day escapade centered on a flyby around the moon. Launched into orbit on April 1, Artemis II’s crew — comprising NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — successfully broke the record for the farthest humans have traveled from Earth on Monday, April 6, with the quartet now earthbound. Their journey also marks the first crewed mission beyond low orbit since Apollo 17 back in December 1972.
Behind the scenes, two NASA employees with ties to both the Austin-area suburb of Pflugerville and the University of Texas at Austin are assisting with the mission: Artemis II ascent flight director Judd Frieling and Mackenzi Haub, a member of NASA’s Rendezvous, Proximity Operations, and Docking (RPOD) team aiding Artemis II. Pflugerville Independent School District gave the duo a shout-out on social media on Monday, praising the duo for their direct involvement in the next generation of space exploration.
Frieling, a 1991 alum of Pflugerville High School, oversees the team that guided the astronauts through liftoff and into orbit. Alongside his tenure at Pflugerville High School, he bleeds burnt orange, having graduated from UT’s Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Department, earning a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering.
Haub graduated from Hendrickson High School in Pflugerville back in 2019 before earning her degree in aerospace, aeronautical and astronautical engineering at UT in 2023. As part of her work on NASA’s RPOD team, she helps process spacecraft imagery “to help calibrate critical onboard sensors — work that ensures Orion’s systems perform accurately as it travels around the Moon and back,” the district noted.
“We’re proud to celebrate two incredible alumni playing key roles in Artemis II — the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon in over 50 years,” district leaders shared in the announcement.