Zitat NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman@NASAAdmin Artemis II has reached its maximum distance from Earth.
On the far side of the Moon, 252,756 miles away, Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy have now traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history and now begin their journey home. Before they left, they said they hoped this mission would be forgotten, but it will be remembered as the moment people started to believe that America can once again do the near-impossible and change the world.
Congratulations to this incredible crew and the entire NASA team, our international and commercial partners, but this mission isn’t over until they’re under safe parachutes, splashing down into the Pacific. 1:09 AM · Apr 7, 2026
Zitat Eric Daugherty@EricLDaugh 🚨 BREAKING: Incredible moment as Artemis II pilot Victor Glover shares the Gospel mere MOMENTS before reaching the back side of the Moon, losing communication with Earth
"Christ said, in response to what was the greatest command, that it was to love God with all that you are." 🙏🏻
"And he also, being a great teacher, said the second is equal to it, and that is to love your neighbor as yourself."
"And so, as we prepare to go out of radio communication, we're still going to feel your love from Earth, and to all of you down there on earth and around earth, we love you from the moon." ❤️ 1:09 AM · Apr 7, 2026
Zitat Marcus Pittman@ImKingGinger Atheists really hate how distinctly Christian space travel is.
Astronauts read Genesis orbiting the moon (Apollo 8) Took communion on the lunar surface (Aldrin) Psalms from the moon (Irwin) Bibles to the ISS (Glover) Now Artemis II We are so back 7:53 AM · Apr 5, 2026
Zitat Ulrich Elkmann@ulrich_elk37910 Atheist here. No, NOT "offended" at all. Because Christianity, regardless if you believe in a God or transcendence, also stands for a morality, a stance, values, and the spirit to make the most of what humans are able to. And you can believe in *that* & respect it for what it is. 2:56 PM · Apr 5, 2026
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Zitat Zumindest wissen wir nun, wie dies gemeint war:
Nutella ist in etwa so deutsch wie ein Badestrand in Rimini - also eher "kulturell angeeignet" als originär teutonisch. Wobei ich nicht ausschließen will, dass der Raumfahrt-Bär das nicht weiss und demnächst die Gelegenheit ergreifen wird sich selbst und die vertretene Nation auf großer Bühne zu blamieren.
Übrigens aus Gründen der für die Raumfahrt erforderlichen Effizienz durchaus sinnvoll: Es dürfte wohl kaum ein Lebensmittel mit einer höheren Energiedichte als diesen Nougat, Öl- und Zuckermix geben. Nüsse sind auch in anderer Form ein wichtiger Bestandteil der Astronautenfütterung. Mich erstaunt dabei eher, dass man überflüssige Ballaststoffe (selten war der Begriff passender) wie Blumenkohl mitgenommen hat, der insb. in getrockneter Form abgesehen von seinem grauenhaften Geschmack und missionsgefährdenden Flatulenzen nichts liefert was man nicht auch mit Wasser und Pillen substituieren könnte, zumindest in der kurzen Frist. Und die Tatsache, dass die Nutella im traditionellen (Plastik-) Glas verbleiben durfte anstatt in einem stauraumoptimierten Beutel - ich vermute, dass Ferrero dafür tief in die Werbekasse greifen musste und im Gegenzug das product placement des schwerelosen Glases bekommen hat (oder zumindest einen behördlich offiziell lancierten deep fake, heutzutage ist alles möglich)...
Zitat April 7, 2026 at 3:20 PM Today is Flight Day 7 of NASA's 10-day Artemis 2 mission and it should be a bit of a quieter today for the astronaut crew after yesterday's stunning first moon flyby by humans in over 50 years. The astronauts are still sleeping, currently. Their wake up time today is at 11:35 a.m. EDT (1535 GMT).
Today is a science downlink day. They astronauts will meet and have conferences with the Artemis 2 Lunar Science Team to discuss and download all of their observations of yesterday's flyby. It should be excited to see. By the way, check out some of the early images - like the view of Earthset above. Absolutely epic.
The astronauts will also get some time off today to rest after a packed mission. We'll be back for wakeup call today, and maybe some breakfast! See you then!
Zitat Nutella ergattert den wertvollsten Werbespot aller Zeiten – und muss dafür nichts zahlen
Die Nuss-Nugat-Creme war quasi aus dem Regal gefallen, als Astronautin Christina Koch kurz zuvor etwas in einer Plastiktüte verstaut und weggeräumt hatte. Das Glas fällt der Crew erst gar nicht auf und so schwebt es sekundenlang durch das ganze Raumschiff Orion.
Ein offenbar ungeplanter Zufall, der Nutella und der Herstellerfirma Ferrero einen Werbewert in Höhe eines dreistelligen Millionenbetrags verschafft, schätzt Experte Thomas Heyen von der Werbeagentur Jung von Matt. „Bei dem fliegenden Nutella-Glas handelt es sich vermutlich um einen Sechser im Lotto, von dem jede Marke träumt“, sagt Heyen WELT. „Eine massive globale Reichweite, die Ferrero da geschenkt wurde. Und das mutmaßlich ohne eigenes Zutun.“
Zusätzlich zu der Reichweite des eigentlichen Live-Streams, in dem das Glas zu sehen, profitiert der Hersteller auch noch von der Berichterstattung in anderen Medien, die durch die unfreiwillige Reklame ausgelöst wird und sie so noch verstärkt. „Bei einem weltweiten Ereignis steigt die Reichweite in die Milliarde Kontakte“, schätzt Heyen.
Tatsächlich dürfte es sich um den wohl teuersten Frühstücksaufstrich der Menschheitsgeschichte handeln. Die Artemis-2-Mission um den Mond zu schicken kostet die Nasa mehr als vier Milliarden Dollar. Transportieren kann man für diese Summe lediglich rund 27 Tonnen mit der Rakete. Das bedeutet, dass jedes Kilo Gepäck knapp 150.000 Dollar wert ist. Ein 400-Gramm-Glas Nutella auf die Rückseite des Mondes zu transportieren, kostet damit rund 60.000 Dollar.
Kein Wunder, dass man sich bei Ferrero begeistert ist vom kostenlosen Flug um den Mond samt Werbespot zur besten Live-Stream-Sendezeit für das eigene Produkt. „Wie so viele Menschen auf der ganzen Welt verfolgen wir die Artemis‑2‑Mission mit großer Begeisterung und lassen uns von den brillanten Teams inspirieren, die sie möglich machen“, teilt das Unternehmen WELT auf Anfrage mit. „Wir wussten schon immer, dass Nutella einfach überirdisch ist – jetzt haben wir den Beweis!“
Zitat Flight Day 8: Artemis 2 astronauts wake up to "Under Pressure" They also got a nice message from Canadian Space Agency employees
Flight Day 8 of the Artemis 2 mission around the moon kicked off today (April 8) at 11:35 a.m. EDT (1335 GMT) with a great wakeup song — "Under Pressure" by David Bowie and Queen. (There was some drama when the first notes of that famous bassline hit, however: Were we hearing that classic or "Ice Ice Baby?")
After shutting off the song, Mission Control beamed up a nice message from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). "Good morning, Artemis 2!" a crowd of CSA workers hollered at the four astronauts.
Then, a single voice delivered these words: "Your friends and colleagues at the Canadian Space Agency wish you another great day on your voyage. Canadians everywhere are inspired by your journey, and we're with you every step of the way. Let's go!"
The CSA has an astronaut on Artemis 2, of course — mission specialist Jeremy Hansen. He's flying with four NASA astronauts: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch.
Flight Day 8 will be a rather sedate one for the quartet, at least compared to the action-packed Flight Day 6, when they made their record-breaking flyby of the moon. The astronauts will hold a live CSA downlink event at 7:20 p.m. EDT (2320 GMT), conduct a radiation-shielding experiment an hour later, and talk to reporters at 9:45 p.m. EDT (0145 GMT on April 9). Then, at 10:59 p.m. EDT (0259 GMT), they'll do some manual flying with their Orion capsule to further test its capabilities.
Zitat April 8, 2026 at 9:30 PM Flight Day 8: Astronauts begin stowing their gear for return
The Artemis 2 astronauts aboard Orion are continuing their flight back from the moon, and have started wrapping up aspects of the mission to prepare for their plunge through Earth's atmosphere.
NASA astronaut and Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman began his scheduled exercise routine today (April 8) at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) — an activity each crew member has partaken in daily to stave off the effects of microgravity on their muscles and bones.
Before his workout, however, Reid called down to mission control to confirm that this would be his last exercise routine before the crew's return April 10.
"Can you confirm this is my final exercise of the mission," Wiseman said to Mission Control. "It'll just help me with stowage management."
The crew's final exercise is one of the milestones marking the final leg of their journey — and stowing everything aboard Orion, including the crew's flywheel exercise machine, is important. Loose gear can be dangerous during reentry.
Artemis 2 is scheduled to splash down on April 10, at 8:07 p.m. EDT (0007 GMT, April 11). Before they do, though, Orion will break another spaceflight record when it hits Earth's atmosphere at 25,000 mph (40,230 kph), and that can be a bumpy ride. Any free-flying equipment aboard the spacecraft will become a hazard during that phase of flight, and securing heavy gear like exercise equipment is crucial.
Later today, the astronauts will hold a live event with the Canadian Space Agency , practice radiation-shielding procedures and hold a short press conference at 9:45 p.m. EDT (0145 GMT on April 9).
Tonight, the astronauts will perform maneuverability tests with Orion, switching between the spacecraft's two modes of attitude control.
Zitat Owen Sparks@OwenSparks NASA kept the American flag meant to be planted on the Moon with the Apollo 18 mission, before the program was cancelled. It turns out the Artemis II had that same flag on board this entire time, as they flew around the Moon, kicking off humanity's return to the Moon. 🇺🇸 5:23 AM · Apr 9, 2026
Zitat April 9, 2026 at 6:06 PM Flight Day 9: Artemis 2 astronauts wake up to 'Lonesome Drifter'
The Artemis 2 astronauts were woken up on Thursday (April 9) morning to the song "Lonesome Drifter" by Charley Crockett — though the world would argue these adventurers are anything but.
With just one day to go before they splash down just off the coast of San Diego, these space explorers have captured hearts all across the world. They've made heart signs with their hands on NASA's livestream of the inside of the Orion spacecraft and they've watched Nutella float around alongside their toy moon named "Rise" that holds the names of everyone on Earth who signed up to have their presence brought to lunar tides.
They even named a crater after commander Reid Wiseman's late wife who passed away from cancer in 2020.
Today's activities, according to Mission Control, mostly surround preparing for splashdown tomorrow.
Flight Day 9: NASA gearing up for Artemis 2 astronauts' return | "The crew has done their part. Now we have to do ours."
As Orion picks ups speed on its journey back from the moon, NASA officials say its time for the work of mission engineers and technicians to be put on full display.
"To every engineer, every technician that's touched this machine tomorrow belongs to you," said NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya, during a mission update briefing today (April 9). "The crew has done their part. Now we have to do ours."
The Artemis 2 astronauts return to Earth tomorrow, and face one of the most risky parts of their mission.
Orion's return trajectory plan for Artemis 2 was altered after the heat shield on Artemis 1 experienced unexpected char and material losses during atmospheric reentry. Now, rather than hitting the atmosphere head-one, Orion will perform what's called a "lofted" reentry, dipping down into the atmosphere briefly, before delving back down for its final descent — similar to a stone skipping once across a pond before sinking beneath the water.
The flight path is designed to reduce heat stress on Orion's heatshield, decelerating the spacecraft in separate increments to better distribute its building energy, but the risk isn't entirely mitigated.
"Let's not beat around the bush," said Artemis 2 lead flight director Jeff Radigan during Thursday's briefing. "We have to hit that angle correctly, otherwise we're not going to have a successful entry,"
Orion will begin its plunge through the atmosphere on Friday (April 10) at around 7:53 p.m. EDT (2353 GMT), entering a 6-minute communications blackout. The spacecraft's two parachute groups, its drogues and the main chutes, will deploy around 8:03 p.m. EDT (0003 GMT, April 11) and 8:04 p.m. EDT (0004 GMT, April 11), respectively, with splashdown expected at 8:07 p.m. EDT (0007 GMT, April 11).
Zitat Apart from pesky issues with the spacecraft’s toilet and waste disposal system, most of the Artemis II mission has proceeded like clockwork. NASA has made few changes to the flight plan since the launch of the lunar flyby mission April 1.
But ground controllers revamped the timeline Wednesday as the Artemis II astronauts zoomed toward Earth after a close encounter with the Moon earlier this week. The four astronauts were supposed to take manual control of their Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, for a piloting demonstration Wednesday night.
Instead, mission managers canceled the demo to make time for an additional test of the ship’s propulsion system. The goal was to gather data on a “small leak” of helium gas, which Orion uses to push propellant through a series of tanks and pipes to feed the spacecraft’s rocket engines, said Jeff Radigan, NASA’s lead flight director for the Artemis II mission.
The spacecraft burns hydrazine fuel mixed with an oxidizer, nitrogen tetroxide, to power its main engine and thrusters for in-space maneuvers. The leak on Artemis II is in the helium pressure supply to the oxidizer side.
“The leak is not to space. It’s internal to the system across some of our valves, and we really need to characterize that to see what, if any, modifications we might need to make in the future,” Radigan said.
The valves are inside the European-built service module, which the Orion spacecraft will jettison just before reentering the atmosphere Friday evening. The Orion crew module will guide astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen to a safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. The service module will burn up in the atmosphere.
The helium leak has not affected the propulsion system’s performance so far. “All of our burns have performed nominally,” Radigan said.
Orion’s trajectory is so close to preflight predictions that NASA has canceled some of the mission’s course correction burns. The midcourse burns that have occurred were all low-impulse maneuvers using the service module’s smaller jets, which don’t require the helium system to recharge pressure.
Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s associate administrator, said mission managers were aware the Orion spacecraft had a “low leak rate” of helium before launch. Engineers also observed a helium leak during the unpiloted flight of the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I mission in 2022.
Officials decided to proceed with the launch because the spacecraft did not need the full capability of its propulsion system on Artemis II, which followed a “free return trajectory” using the Moon’s gravity to slingshot the capsule back to Earth. This mission required no complex maneuvers to enter orbit around the Moon.
As of Wednesday, nearly 80 percent of the way through the Artemis II mission, the spacecraft had consumed just 40 percent of its fuel. “Clearly, we had put a lot of margin into this mission to make sure we could fly it properly,” said Debbie Korth, NASA’s deputy Orion program manager.
The only burn of the mission to use the service module’s larger main engine was the trans-lunar injection maneuver, or TLI burn, on the second day of the flight. This engine firing propelled the Orion spacecraft out of Earth orbit on a path around the Moon. That’s when the ground teams noticed the helium leak rate start to rise.
Speaking with reporters Thursday, NASA officials said the leak is not a concern for the mission’s return to Earth because the Orion crew module has an independent set of tanks, valves, and thrusters to steer the spacecraft through reentry. The leaky valves will be discarded with the rest of the service module around 20 minutes before Artemis II hits the atmosphere.
“We knew that we have leaky valves to begin with, and we want to make sure that we’re characterizing that leak rate as well as we can,” said Kshatriya, a former NASA flight director. “The leak rate we saw in flight is now an order of magnitude higher than what we saw on the ground. It’s still acceptable, but that will lead us to probably an extensive redesign of that valve system.”
Artemis IV is when Kshatriya said NASA must have new helium valves ready to go. “I don’t need those valves to hold pressure in the same way for a LEO [low-Earth orbit] orbiting mission, but for a lunar orbit mission, I do.”
NASA’s schedule currently puts the launch of Artemis III in 2027 and Artemis IV in 2028. Kshatriya said he was confident NASA, working the European Space Agency and Airbus, which builds the service module, will be able to fix the valve problem in time for Artemis IV. Manufacturing of the Artemis IV service module is largely complete.
“I’m pretty sure we’re going to need to, at a minimum, tweak the design to prevent the leak rate that we have, if not fundamentally change the way the valve works,” he said.
Valves are a common bugaboo on rockets and spacecraft. Nearly every US human spaceflight program has dealt with malfunctioning or leaky valves. Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule suffered helium leaks in its propulsion system, along with other issues, during a test flight to the International Space Station in 2024. Helium valves on the Space Launch System rocket had to be replaced in the run-up to the Artemis I and Artemis II launches. SpaceX, too, has scrubbed launches due to valve problems. The list goes on.
Zitat In all diesem Nichts, in dieser Leere, die wir das Universum nennen, haben Sie diese Oase, diesen herrlichen Ort, auf dem wir gemeinsam leben.
Christina Koch heute auf der Pressekonferenz für die Mannschaft der Artemis:
Zitat And someone asked the question: "What makes a crew? What is different about a crew than a team?" And I was like: "I got this." Opened my mouth confidently to tell them everything I knew about being a crewmate. And everything that came out of my mouth was completely without value. I was, like, "Yeah, crews ... They're, you know, they're in space and they work together, but they eat together, too. So you know they're a crew." And boats have crews - you're a crew when you're on a boat. Helps if you have a paddle. That'll be good. That will make you a crew." But after the last ten days, I've gotten a bit of a better answer on that question. A crew is a group that is in it all the time, no matter what. That is stroking together every minute with the same purpose. That is wiling to sacrifice, silently, for each other. That gives grace. That holds accountable. A crew has the same cares and the same needs. And a crew is inescapably, beautifully, dutifully linked. So when we saw tiny Earth, people asked our crew what impressions we had. And, honestly, what struck me wasn't necessarily Earth. It was all the blackness around it. Earth was just this lifeboat, hanging indisturbingly in the universe . So, I may have not learned - I know I haven't learned - everything that this journey has yet to teach me. But there's one new thing I know, and that is planet Earth: You are a crew. Thank you.
Da es nach der Landung viele Beschwerden gab, es hätte so lange gedauert, bis die Astronauten die Kapsel verließen:
Zitat Scott Manley@DJSnM So, how much slower at spacecraft recovery was Orion compared to SpaceX? Looking at Artemis stream splashdown is 1:39:30 1st crew out at 3:02:58, 4th crew out at 3:06:59. SpaceX DM-2 landing at 6:28:04 1st crew at 7:46:48, 2nd at 7:50:33 Orion 1:27:29 Dragon 1:22:29 So, 5 minutes slower.
Zitat NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman@NASAAdmin With Artemis II complete, we’re preparing to roll Artemis III into the VAB. Artemis III will rendezvous with our partners in earth orbit as we continue building toward the @NASAMoonBase. Artemis missions will launch every year, with Artemis IV landing on the Moon in 2028. 2:31 PM · Apr 13, 2026
Zitat NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman@NASAAdmin The time has come for America to get underway on nuclear power in space🇺🇸
Zitat White House OSTP 47@WHOSTP47·4h Today, we are releasing new guidance to Federal agencies for establishing a National Initiative for American Space Nuclear Power, as called for by President Trump’s EO on Ensuring American Space Superiority.
Nuclear power in space will give us the sustained electricity, heating, and propulsion essential to a permanent presence on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Zitat President Trump's Executive Order (EO) 14369, "Ensuring American Space Superiority" (December 18, 2025) established the bold and ambitious goal of enabling near-term use of space nuclear power by deploying nuclear reactors on the Moon and in orbit, including a lunar surface reactor ready for launch by 2030. As directed in the EO, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) will coordinate implementation of these goals through the National Initiative for America Space Nuclear Power (Initiative). This memorandum provides guidance to Federal departments and agencies (agencies) on achieving the President's priority for space nuclear power through this Initiative.
1. Establishing the Natonal Intitiative for America Space Nuclear Power
The United States will lead the world in developing and deplying nuclear space power for exploration, commerce, and defense. Agencies will establish cost-effective partnerships woith private-sector innovators to meet near-term objecztives that include safely deploying nuclear reactors in orbit as early as 2028 and on the Moon as early as 2030. Achieving these objectives will establish technological viability essential to unlocking space exploration, commerce, and defense application.
2. Strategy
iii. NEP variants will be designed for compatibility with launch vehicles that are or will be readily available by 2029, and should ensure that planning for nuclear power usage does not drive the overall technical, cost, or schedule risk of the project.
iv. The mid-power reactors will be designed to provide at least 20 kilowatt electric (kWe) during at least 3 years in orbit and at least 5 years on the lunar surface.
The overall strategy for the Initiative is to conduct parallel and mutually-reinforcing National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Department of War (DOW) design competitions to enable near-term demonstration and use of low- to mid-power space reactors in orbit and on the lunar surface, and prepare to deploy high-power reactors in the 2030s.
a. NASA will, within 30 days of this memorandum, initiate a program to develop a mid-power space reactor with a lunar fission surface power (FSP) variant ready forr launch in 2030, and an option for a space variant for a nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) demonstration.
b. DOW will, pending availability of funding, pursue deployment of a mission-enabling mid-power in-space reactor by 2031.
[c] NASA should pursue development and deployment of a high-power space reactor that can be ready for launch in the 2030s.
[i.] The reactor should be designed to provide at least 100 kWe, building on preceding DOW and NASA space nuclear achievements.
[xii.] To the maximal extent possible, NASA should focus any funding already allocated for NEP on development power systems, radiators, thrusters, and other spacecraft systems for ther potential NEP demontrator, and otherwise advancing near-term objectives while laying the path toward NEP systems combining high power and high specific power appropriate for future crewed missions to Mars (meine Hervorhebung).
[e.] The Department of Energy (DOE) will, consistent with its miss[ion and expertise and subject to avaiable funding:
[vii.] Provide uranium for reactor fuel where commercial sources are insufficient or unavailable, drawing from the available fuel bank directed under Section 5(b) of Executive Order 14299 on Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security, per the DOE fuel allocation and prioritization process.
Zitat Nach der geglückten dritten Mondlandung durch Apollo 14 ... hatte sich unter den Fernsehzuschauern und Zeitungslesern, nicht nur in den USA, ein Gefühl der Routine breitgemacht: ... „They made it boring!“ beschwerte sich der bekannteste Nachrichtensprecher, Walter Cronkite, nach dem Abschluß des Mondlandeprogramms mit Blick auf das „größte Abenteuer der Menschheit."
Und gerade stolpere ich zufällig über diesen Passus:
Zitat The accomplishment of NASA that I'm most impressed by is how they manage to take the most romantic subject I know of and by careful application make it incredibly *dull.' I am not disparaging the enginergin accomplishments nor the heroic accomplishments of astronauts in saying that. I'm talking primarly about their P.R.O.!
Robert A. Heinlein im Telefon-Interview mit J. Neil Schulman, zit.n. The Robert Heinlein Interview and Other Heinleiniana (Pulpless.com, 1999), S. 96. Schulman hat das dreistündige Gespräch mit Heinlein im Juni 1973 geführt, nach Angabe seines Biographen William Patterson (Robert A. Heinlein. In Dialogue with His Century) fand das Gespräch am 26.6.73 statt.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Noch aus der Executive Order aus #17, Abschnitt D:
Zitat [d.] Across elements of the Initiative, DOW and NASA will, wherever beneficial and to the extent possible within existing authorities, use mechanisms and approaches that enable and incentivize innovation, rapid progress, and cost-effectivenness for taxpayers, such as:
[i.] Issuing firm fixed-price contracts, with funding payments provided only on successful completion of interim and final milestones;
[ii.] Allowing vendors to propose their own interim milestones and associated payments, and favoring payments that are tied primarily to tangible delivery of hardware and demonstration of real capability;
[iii.] Ensuring that agreements provide for appropriate government use and march-in rights, for example by incorporating standard patent right clauses of 37 CFR 401.14;
i. und ii. beziehen sich natürlich, ohne jetzt das Kind beim Namen zu nennen, auf das Desaster von Boeing und dem "Starliner" (4,2 Milliarden $ Vorauszahlung 2014 mit vorgesehenem Erstflug 2017, gescheitertem ersten Testflug 2019 und gescheitertem ersten bemannten Einsatz 2024).
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Zitat The two professional photography instructors who trained Artemis II astronauts to take pictures of the moon and Earth during their historic lunar flyby said they were as impressed as the public by the stunning celestial imagery caught on camera.
April 15, 20264:08 PM GMT+2
The two professional photography instructors who trained Artemis II astronauts to take pictures of the moon and Earth during their historic lunar flyby said they were as impressed as the public by the stunning celestial imagery caught on camera.
Willoughby and Reichert are both graduates of the prestigious Rochester Institute of Technology's photographic sciences program. "Most people can use a camera and get a photo that is good enough, but good enough isn't what we're after scientifically," Willoughby said on RIT's news site.
Mission pilot Victor Glover has said the crew's training included on-the-ground drills in which astronauts practiced shooting pictures from inside a mock-up of the Orion capsule using a giant inflatable moon globe suspended in the dark.
Selecting the right tools for the job was key to their success.
The Nikon D5 (7731.T), opens new tab, a digital single-lens reflex model released in 2016, was the workhorse camera used by the crew. Reichert said the D5, used for years on the International Space Station, had proven it would withstand radiation and other extremes of space travel.
"We had a lot of flight experience with it," Reichert told Reuters in Houston on Tuesday. "We knew it could handle radiation, at least several years of radiation dosage on the ISS, and it didn't have any problems with it.”
Another advantage of the D5 was its exceptional performance in low light -- a necessity for capturing crisp images in the inky blackness of space.
One piece of camera equipment used by the Artemis II astronauts is familiar to many amateurs - an iPhone. Willoughby said Apple's (AAPL.O), opens new tab iPhone 17 Pro Max was a late addition to the Artemis equipment list. While the handheld, point-and-shoot nature of the phones was useful, the large digital file sizes of the images posed a transmission challenge.
"One thing we do have to think about on board is, 'What does it take to get files down?'" Willoughby said. "And unfortunately, we don't have bandwidth. And that's something a lot of people down here [on Earth] are really used to instantly having."
Unlike lunar missions from the Apollo era of more than 50 years ago, Artemis II astronauts benefited from instantly being able to review the digital photos they took, a far cry from the substantial lag time required for developing the conventional film stock that was once used. Moreover, GoPro livestreaming video gave modern Earth audiences a real-time view of space exploration.
Willoughby said the exhilaration on the ground at mission control in Houston during the April 6 lunar flyby was palpable.
And the excitement in the back rooms and the front rooms as the images were being seen and being put out was pretty good. We were all very excited," Willoughby said.
Besides the D5, the crew also utilized a Nikon Z9 mirrorless camera and several lenses, including a 14-24mm zoom, 80-400mm zoom and a standard 35mm.
Die dritte Folge der "Collier's Magazine"-Serie "Man Will Conquer Space Soon!" (1952-54) vom 25. Oktober 1952 ist dem Thema "Man on the Moon" gewidmet. Willy Leys kurzer Überblick "Inside the Lunar Base" (S. 47) läßt die technischen Details, einschließlich der Frage der Energieversorgung, ganz außen vor.
Die erste Planstudie über Einrichtung, Ausstattung und Transportbedarf für eine beständig bemannte Mondstation stammt von der ABMA, der Army Ballistic Missile Agency, der Raketen- und Satelliten-Entwicklungsabteilung der US-Armee unter General Medaris, die parallel zur Luftwaffe an Satelliten und Trägerraketen arbeitete. (Die Sowjetunion hatte eine vergleichbare Doppelstruktur, die Entwicklungsbüros unter Sergej Koroljow, OKB 1/Опытно-Конструкторское Бюро-1, und das OKB 456 unter Walentin Petrowitsch Gluschko). Die ABMA ist im Juni 1959 der neugegründeten zivilen NASA beigeordnet worden; das letzte Projekt, ab März 1959 begonnen, mit dem Abschlußbericht vom 8. Juni 1959, waren die vier Bände "Project Horizon," die den Bau einer Mondstation für eine 12-köpfige Besatzung zwischen 1965 und 1967 durchspielte. Im 2. Band, "Technical Considerations and Plans," heißt es zur Energieversorgung der Station:
Zitat (1) Power The basic power supply for use immediately after landing and during the preparation of the advanced party construction camp will be a five kw nuclear reactor. The cabin power requirement will be considerably higher after the landing vehicle has arrived on the lunar surface due to operation of the airlock, heating during the lunar night, etc. Power requirements outside the cabin include that needed for hand operation of tools and for production of hydrogen and oxygen (electrolysis of water) for the fuel cells powering the multi-purpose construction vehicle.
The nuclear power plants which are to be assembled to provide power for construction of the outpost facilities are rated at 10 kw and 40 kw. After selection of the outpost site, craters are to be blasted (if no convenient ones are found) for the power plants. To provide radiation shielding, lunar material not less than 12 feet in thickness is required. Therefore, the reactor cores will be placed at sub-surface levels or behind mounds. The 10 kw plant can be easily hand-carried to its site, its radiator assembled and connected, and its power cable connected to the cabin. The larger plant can then be assembled and used to supplement power for construction equipment. When the initial living quarters are completed, the 40 kw plant will supply power required for occupancy, while the 10 kw plant will serve as emergency and standby power reserve.
Nuclear reactors were selected as the basic power sources since no other source can compete on a pound per kw-hour basis. Solar devices might be competitive except for the 14-day lunar night and the difficulty of storing energy in either form as heat or as electricity. Various means of converting nuclear heat energy to electricity are under study at present. It is unlikely that thermoelectric, thermionic, or any other means of conversion will be superior to the turbo-generator on a weight basis. If metallurgical developments allow very high reactor core temperatures within the next few years, a closed Brayton power cycle might be used; although the mercury Rankine cycle performs very adequately at temperatures attainable at present. In the mercury Rankine cycle, sodium or lithium (reactor core coolant), maximum temperatures are 1200°F - 1300°F. The mercury vapor enters the turbine at 1100°F - 1200°F and condenses at about 600°F. With these easily attainable temperatures, plant weights are about 800 and 1700 pounds and radiator areas (one side) are about 150 and 400 square feet for the 10 kw and 40 kw plants, respectively. The radiators are not radioactive and are erected vertically above the plant craters and protected from meteoroid penetration by sheds of rough construction. This can be accomplished by utilizing metal cut from parts of vehicles not designed for other purposes. The radiation dosage rates received by a man 50 feet or more from the plants will be well below 300 milirem per week, the allowable laboratory dosage. The plants can be shut down and approached for short periods for adjustment and maintenance, and if properly designed can be refueled without exceeding emergency dose tolerances. The maximum credible accident, including core meltdown, pressure vessel rupture, and gaseous fission product release would not require evacuation of quarters. The probability of the occurrence of such an accident is extremely low, since these plants will have the usual safety devices designed to prevent high neutron flux, high temperatures, or any other dangerous condition.
The 10 kw and 40 kw power plants will be assembled about 100 feet apart and 300-400 feet from the outpost living quarters location. For the early stages of construction an external distribution box containing fuse protection, excess load power bleed-off, and power from the reactors . After the living quarters have been located, the power will be transmitted to a control console located in the air lock tank. The console will provide the necessary power factor correction, fuse and voltage regulators, and circuit monitoring. Transmission cable from the reactor (2-inch diameter Teflon insulated silver coated aluminum), will be buried about six inches beneath the surface. This wire will operate over a temperature range of -200°F to +300°F, and when buried will be protected from ultraviolet radiation, which might otherwise have an adverse effect on cable insulation. Power available within the shelters will be 110/220 volt three-wire AC (400 cycle). A rectifier will be installed to convert some of the power to DC. Estimates for the advance outpost requirements reveal that the peak power requirements will be 44 kw, of which 10 kw AC is the intermittent load. A rectifier will be installed to provide the 14 k~ DC power needed for battery charging and the fuel cell electrolysis requirements. (S. 23-27)
Die Endausbauphase sah vier Reaktorblöcke einer Leistung von je 60, 5, 40 und 20 kWh vor; auf der Darstellung der Station auf S. 36 im Bericht sind rechts oben die Kühlflächen von Block A und B zu sehen.
Oder, um Loriots sprechenden Hund Bello leicht zu paraphrasieren: "🌖tt🌖 M🌖hl fühlt sich w🌖hl auf dem M🌖nd mit At🌖mstr🌖m!"
PS. Nett die Flugbahnkalkulation für den Start der als Trägersystem vorgesehenen Saturn A im Bericht auf S. 65. MAX-Q erfolgt dort in einer Höhe von 10,8 km, 68 Sekunden nach dem Start, 2,4 km von der Startrampe entfernt, während eines Neigungswinkels von 22,2° bei einer Beschleunigung von 10,7 km/s² und einer Geschwindigkeit von 411 m/s. Bei einer Falcon 9 erfolgt MAX-Q in einer Höhe von 14,2 km.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Zitat A projection of the nuclear rocket development program, PROJECT ROVER, indicates that useful nuclear engines may be forth-coming in time for upper stage application in the second generation SATURN and the eight F-1 engine cluster vehicle. An investigation has been made of the possible growth potential of the proposed chemical propellant boosters with nuclear upper stages. The present trend of development indicates that the evolution of nuclear engines will begin with a conservative system which has a low thrust level and low specific impulse compared with estimated potentials. 1f reactor materials technology advances as expected, then the specific impulse, power density and thrust level would be increased accordingly. Therefore, in order that the vehicle growth potential might coincide with a logical genesis of nuclear engines, three applications representing different thrust levels and time periods are considered. These are as follows: (I) 50,000-pound (vac) thrust nuclear engine for the third stage of the SATURN II booster; (2) 1. 2 million-pound (vac) thrust nuclear engines for second stage of a modified SATURN II booster, and (3) cluster of four 1. 2 million-pound (vac) thrust nuclear engines for the second stage of an F-1 cluster class booster. A coated graphite reactor design with a vacuum specific impulse of 900 seconds is assumed for each application.
The payload weight landed on the lunar surface with the SATURN nuclear third stage vehicle is two times that of the SATURN chemical propellant vehicle. The SATURN with the nuclear second stage and a nuclear landing stage has seven times the SATURN chemical propellant capacity. A further comparison indicates that the SATURN nuclear second stage vehicle could deliver a lunar soft landing payload which approaches the all-chemical propellant F-1 cluster. The truly significant increase in payload with nuclear staging becomes even more apparent when vehicles of the F-1 cluster class are compared. In this case, a vehicle with parallel nuclear upper staging and a nuclear landing stage indicates a lunar surface payload six and one-half times that of the all-chemical-propellant vehicle. The respective lunar soft landing payloads of the three chemically boosted nuclear vehicles described above are 14,500, 58,000, and 420,000 pounds as compared with the respective all-chemical propellant vehicle lunar payloads of 8000 pounds with the SATURN and 63,000 pounds with the F-1 cluster.
S. 139 Fig II-45 SATURN II with Nuclear 3rd Stage, 9 May 59
S. 159:
Zitat The initial manned landing on the moon will be comprised of a two-man crew that would remain on the lunar surface up to approximately four months. This first crew will, however, have a capability of immediate return or of return at any time during the four-month period. The next manned arrival on the moon will consist of a nine-man crew with the major mission of constructing the outpost facilities. The arrival and departure of manned lunar vehicles is given in Fig. 11-52. As shown, there is an accumulated build-up of personnel to a total of 12 by the outpost operational date of November 1966. During the initial operational period. scheduled from December 1966 through December 1967, a complement of 12 men will occupy the outpost, with the exception of a short period between the arrival of new personnel and the departure of returning personnel, when there will be up to 16 men present.
The second type, required for basic outpost construction, must be delivered by November 1966. Phase 3, first year of 12-man outpost operation, requires standard monthly supply of approximately 20,000 pounds per month. These requirements result in a grand total of 756,000 pounds by the end of 1967. In addition to the cargo flights, each manned vehicle will provide life support essentials for each man for 14 days, as well as lunar clothing and a limited amount of personal equipment. ... As indicated in the figure, a grand total of approximately 5, 320,000 pounds must be delivered into orbit by the end of 1967 to fulfill the requirements of this program.
The total manned space transportation requirements from August 1964 through December 1967 are summarized as follows: Earth to earth-orbit: 252 personnel Earth-orbit to moon: 42 personnel Moon to earth: 26 personnel
It has been assumed that the launching rate of both SATURN I and SATURN 11 combined will not exceed eight per month for the entire U. S. space program. This maximum rate (eight launchings per month) is not attained until July 1965. Studies indicate that the proposed launching rate is well within the production capability and will not place an undue burden on the nation's economy or natural resources.
Zitat S. 210:
The booster recovery scheme which will be used on the SATURN vehicles is shown in Fig. II-67. This scheme is an outgrowth of the successful JUPITER nose cone recovery program. The recovery system is composed o£ parachutes and retro-rockets to lower the impact velocity. Once the booster is in the water, a modified LSD will be used for the actual recovery. Fig~re ll-68 illustrates the floating of the booster into the LSD. After loading the LSD will be pumped dry and the decontamination procedures can be started during the return voyage to the launch site dock.
Zitat S. 238:
The first SATURN I booster will be available for shipment in February 1964 along with a SATURN I orbital capsule. Production rates increase during 1964 and the early part of 1965, with a maximum production of 26 units (stages or payloads) per month in August 1965 and a gradual decrease in production through 1966 and the first half of 1967. During the entire program until D e cember 1967 there will be a total of 820 units shipped from the United States. Ground support equipment and vehicle spare parts can be transported initially (one time lift) on a general cargo ship. Resupply, comprising low weight and volume components, will, in all probability, be on an emergency basis. Air transportation will be necessary.
Programmed vessel sailings will suppo rt the estimated monthly administrative tonnage requirements of 25,000 short tons general cargo and 5,500,000 gallons of miscellaneous petroleum products. This general cargo will be required on s ite beginning April 1964.
Zitat S. 243: The total personnel dispatched to the lunar outpost through 1967 will be approximately 42.
Zitat S. 295. Summary of Planned Accomplishments Q4/1960 First Saturn I Booster Flight Q2/1963 First Lunar Soft Landing Q3/1964 First Manned Lunar Circumvavigation Q2/1965 First Manned Lunar Landing Q2/1965 First Man Returned from Moon Q4/1966 Twelve-Man Lunar Outpost Completed
"Project Horizon": Planstand Juni 1959. Erste weiche Landung Saturn I Anfang 1963, 3 Landungen 1963, 3 weitere 1964, erste Landung Saturn II 1964, mit einer weiteren 1964 und einer dritten 1965. Beginn Aufbau der Station 1966, erste Besatzung 4 Mann, dann Ausbau auf 9, 12 und schließlich 16 Mann Besatzung.
"Artemis": Planstand Februar-April 2026. Monatliche Starts (Orbiter & Rover) ab Anfang 2027. Erste weiche Landung Anfang 2028, zweite Landung Ende 2028. Erste (zeitweise) bemannte Station mit 4 Mann ab 2032; Ausbau und Dauerbesatzung ab 2036.
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Heinz Gartmann, mit "Raumfahrtforschung" von 1952, findet sich dort als "Gartmaun," und der Verlag Oldenburg als "Oldenborerg." Rolf Mertens "Hochfrequenztechnik und Weltraumfahrt" (Stuttgart 1951: S. Hirzel) als "Hockfrequenztechnik und Weltraumfahet."
"Les hommes seront toujours fous; et ceux qui croient les guérir sont les plus fous de la bande." - Voltaire
Zitat Blue Origin’s Endurance lander departed NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday for a trip by barge back to Cape Canaveral, Florida, for final preparations to launch on the company’s heavy-lift New Glenn rocket. The lander underwent a comprehensive test in Houston to ensure it can survive the extreme temperatures on the airless lunar surface. Two days earlier, Chang’e 7 arrived at a spaceport on Hainan Island in the South China Sea to be integrated with China’s own heavy-lifter: the Long March 5 rocket.
Both launches are scheduled to go off later this year, perhaps in late summer, but it is too soon to know if China’s Chang’e 7 or Blue Origin’s Endurance has a better shot at reaching Shackleton first. What’s more interesting than which mission lands first is the distinct possibility of both vehicles operating in relative close proximity on a piece of prime lunar real estate.
Shackleton Crater is about 13 miles (21 kilometers) wide, with a surface area roughly the same as the cities of Philadelphia, Las Vegas, or Detroit. The crater measures 14,000 feet (4.2 kilometers) deep. If Endurance and Chang’e 7 land on or near the crater rim, as expected, it would be the first time landers from different nations have operated simultaneously so close to one another on another planetary body.
The plans to send two missions to Shackleton at close to the same time are also emblematic of the brewing competition between the United States and China to land humans on the Moon before the end of this decade. Both nations plan to construct a lunar base near the Moon’s south pole in the 2030s.
The highest crests of Shackleton’s rim offer the advantage of near-continuous sunlight, providing a lander or future Moon base a stable source of solar power right next to a crater floor in eternal shadow, where temperatures are cold enough to preserve ancient ice deposits. The Moon’s polar cold traps, including Shackleton, are attractive targets for future exploration. The ice at these locations could be harvested to supply drinking water, oxygen, and rocket fuel for a lunar outpost.
Blue Origin’s Endurance lander is the first test flight of the company’s Blue Moon Mark 1 design, a 26-foot-tall (8-meter) vehicle intended to deliver cargo and experiments to the lunar surface. Blue Moon Mark 1 is a stepping stone to Blue Origin’s human-rated lunar lander for NASA’s Artemis program.
Blue Origin has not publicly identified the exact landing site for the Endurance test flight, other than saying it will target the Moon’s south pole region. In a social media post last year, Bezos said it would land “near Shackleton Crater.” The south pole lies directly on the crater rim. Endurance will carry a suite of NASA-funded stereo cameras to observe interactions between the lander’s engine plume and lunar soil, along with a laser ranging reflector to help scientists pinpoint the craft’s precise location on the Moon. Blue Origin has not yet revealed what else the mission might do after landing, but getting to the surface intact and upright is the primary goal for Endurance.
Similarly, Chinese officials have not announced where on Shackleton’s rim Chang’e 7 will land. But we know more about Chang’e 7’s exploration pursuits after it reaches the south pole. The Chinese mission, which also includes an orbiter, will deploy a rover and a “mini-flying probe” after landing. The rover and drone will carry instruments to analyze and measure the abundance of water ice in lunar soil in and around Shackleton Crater.
One of Chang’e 7’s goals is to “directly confirm the existence and source of water ice” in the south pole region, according to a research paper published about the mission. NASA’s VIPER rover has similar objectives. It is slated to land near the Moon’s south pole aboard Blue Origin’s second Blue Moon Mark 1 lander in 2027.
So, what happens if one mission encounters another on the Moon? The United States and China are parties to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits claims of territorial sovereignty on the Moon and other celestial bodies. But the treaty allows for bases, and it requires parties to the agreement act with “due regard” to the interests of other nations.
In an article published last year, Michelle Hanlon, a professor of air and space law at the University of Mississippi, outlined the advantages of being first at the Moon. The first country to succeed in placing a nuclear reactor on the Moon, for example, could “shape the norms for expectations, behaviors, and legal interpretations,” she wrote.
These first-mover advantages could extend to future lunar bases, mining, and other resource extraction activities on the Moon. NASA has proposed the concept of “safety zones” to avoid interference between the operations of different nations on the Moon. Signatories to the Artemis Accords drafted by the US government must agree to this idea. Sixty-one nations have signed the accords to date, but China and Russia are not part of the agreement.
Missions like Endurance, VIPER, and Chang’e 7 will be followed by more robotic landers. NASA aims to land astronauts on the Moon again as soon as 2028, and China wants to put its citizens on the lunar surface by 2030. Much of this traffic will be confined to an area within 100 miles of the south pole. It is conceivable that a eureka-like discovery of vast deposits of water ice or another valuable resource could focus future missions and lunar bases into an even smaller area, setting the conditions for an eventual test of the legal definition of “due regard” in the Outer Space Treaty.
Zitat Space experts foresee an “operational need” for nuclear power on the Moon
“We do anticipate having to deploy nuclear systems on the lunar surface.” Stephen Clark – 4. Apr. 2024 15:36
“We do anticipate having to deploy nuclear systems on the lunar surface,” said Jay Jenkins, program executive for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
“Honestly, it’s not unrealistic that we’ll want to do be able to do this within five years or less. We are starting to buy payloads that are meant for investigations that go beyond one lunar day,” Jenkins said during a Nuclear Regulatory Commission conference earlier this month.
“I think the only way you’re going to have a sustainable presence on the surface of the moon is using nuclear power,” said McGrath, an executive at Intuitive Machines, which is investing in several types of nuclear power systems.
NASA and the US military are providing funding for these efforts, beginning with the test of a nuclear thermal propulsion in orbit in 2027. This demonstration will involve a small nuclear reactor, similar to one that could be used to generate power on the Moon. The reactor will rapidly warm up liquid hydrogen propellant; the gas expands and is passed out a nozzle, creating thrust vastly more efficiently than a conventional rocket.
In a separate program, NASA awarded relatively low-cost preliminary design contracts in 2022 for three industrial teams to work on concepts for 40-kilowatt-class, six-metric-ton nuclear fission reactors to operate on the lunar surface. Some of the same companies working on the nuclear rocket program, like Lockheed Martin and BWXT, are working with NASA to apply the reactor technology to the Moon.
Zitat Jeremy R. Hansen@Astro_Jeremy In the past few days, my Artemis II crewmates and I have been running simulations to figure out how to make the most of every step on the lunar surface during future missions. We suit up and push through demanding test runs while our bodies are still adjusting after our trip around the Moon. 3:46 PM · Apr 16, 2026
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