Inside NASA’s Astronaut Training for a Historic Moon Mission

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(Bloomberg) — In just days, a group of astronauts — three Americans and one Canadian — is slated to fly roughly 5,000 miles past the far side of the moon, the furthest humans have ever traveled in space. 

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Their 10-day journey, the second flight of NASA’s Artemis program to create a lunar outpost as a stepping stone to Mars, will bring the crew around the moon without touching down, a precursor to the agency’s planned landing mission in 2028. 

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Along the way, they will also be making history as the first woman, person of color and Canadian to orbit the moon while testing a new spacecraft, a key component to NASA’s ambitious future missions. 

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“There’s always been a lot riding on this mission,” said Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator of NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate during a press conference on Sunday. “The future of the Artemis program, the first major step with crew, is the Artemis II mission.”

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The astronauts aboard the Orion capsule — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen — were chosen by NASA in April 2023 after a rigorous selection process. 

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Wiseman, Glover and Koch have all launched to the International Space Station for monthslong stays, but this will be Hansen’s first spaceflight. For each of them, a trip around the moon required an intensive training program that stretched over nearly three years to prepare them for uncharted territory. 

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Inspired by Apollo

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Wiseman, who worked as chief of NASA’s astronaut office for around two years, will serve as commander of Artemis II, leading the team and overseeing the mission’s success. Glover, a former US Navy pilot, will be responsible for navigating the Orion capsule and conducting flight maneuvers. Mission specialists Koch and Hansen will support the onboard science experiments and test the spacecraft’s life support systems, including water and waste management.

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Even before the astronauts were selected, a training team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston was already brainstorming how to ready the crew. 

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While they took some inspiration from how the Apollo astronauts trained for moon missions over half a century ago, the team had to take into account the new technology of the Artemis program, according to Jacki Mahaffey, chief training officer for Artemis II.

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“Especially for Orion, because it’s the first time we’re training crew, we had to start with: What do we even need to train them on?” said Mahaffey. 

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The preparation required time in the classroom to learn the features of the spacecraft as well as in NASA simulations to understand the conditions of space, the crew capsule and the post-landing splashdown. 

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During the simulations — or sims, as rocket scientists and astronauts call them — members were able to practice controlling Orion’s displays and switches, connecting to mission control and even tidying up and unpacking cargo. The training team would mimic events like cabin leaks or a fire outbreak to ensure the crew knew how to respond.