Connecticut professors speak on historic Artemis II moon flyby

Going where no person has gone before. The Artemis II astronauts made history Monday with their historic moon flyby. They have now gone farther from Earth than anyone has ever traveled.

“It is so great to hear from Earth again. To Asia, Africa, and Oceania, we are looking back at you,” Christina Koch, an Artemis II crew member, said.

A message of success as the crew of Artemis II regained communication with mission control after emerging from the far side of the moon. That was after a planned 45-minute communications blackout during the crew’s historic moon flyby. The crew is going farther from Earth than anyone has ever gone, more than 250,000 miles away. The mission commander, Reid Wiseman, delivered a poignant message.

“We most importantly choose this moment to challenge this generation in the next to make sure this record is not long-lived,” he said.

“It really is awe-inspiring and puts things in perspective to have those four people that far away from the planet removed from everything here on earth,” Paul Slaboch, a University of Hartford aerospace engineering professor, said.

He said it’s a major milestone for future moon exploration, with the astronauts seeing the far side of the moon for seven hours for the first time since the Apollo missions more than 50 years ago.

“It is a training mission for the next go-around, and making sure that when we do land on the Moon in future Artemis missions, it’ll be safe,” Slaboch said.

Connecticut College astronomy professor Alex Gianninas says this is a defining moment for a new generation, one who didn’t witness the first moon landing but got to watch the flyby stream in real time.

“We have access to be able to experience this in a completely unprecedented way with live streams and apps that allow us to follow,” he said.

Slaboch hopes this moment inspires kids to pursue astronomy or engineering, or even to become astronauts themselves.

“I’m hoping the younger generations get a chance to experience it for themselves and it spurs a new space age, if you will,” he said.

And for the Artemis II crew, they’re hoping this mission will bring people together.

“We will inspire. But ultimately, we will always choose Earth. We will always choose each other,” Koch said.

The crew is now making their journey back to Earth and is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday.

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