HOUSTON (AP) — Full of joy after their successful lunar flyby, the Artemis II astronauts reached out to their colleagues on the International Space Station Tuesday, making space exploration history.
This was the inaugural moon-to-spacecraft communication, a first since previous Apollo missions operated without contact with other off-planet teams. The moment was particularly special for Christina Koch of Artemis II and Jessica Meir aboard the ISS, rekindling their camaraderie from the 2019 first all-female spacewalk.
Houston’s Mission Control facilitated this unique interaction between the four Artemis II astronauts and the crew on the ISS, consisting of three NASA astronauts and one from France.
On the morning of their call, Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman shared breathtaking images from their recent lunar rendezvous, which has established a new record for distance traveled by humans. One of the most striking images was an Earthset photo, reminiscent of Apollo 8’s iconic Earthrise from 1968.
As the first explorers to venture to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972, Wiseman and his crew are now gearing up for a splashdown off the coast of San Diego, expected to occur on Friday, concluding their nearly 10-day test flight.
This mission is a crucial preparation for next year's Artemis III, which will demonstrate lunar lander docking in orbit around Earth, followed by Artemis IV in 2028, aiming to land two astronauts near the lunar south pole.
