When human eyes could finally see it, the Integrity capsule looked like a tiny, fragile panettone hurtling through the sky with the velocity of a meteor.
The world stopped breathing until the module, ferrying four now-famous astronauts, deployed its 11 parachutes and hit the cobalt waters of the Pacific Ocean off San Diego on Saturday morning. Splashdown.
The heart-in-your-mouth spectacle followed a violently fast plunge from space that saw the Artemis II crew approach 40,000km/h, a near-record speed, as it streaked through the upper atmosphere above Australia and triggered a fireball of plasma around the spacecraft, scorching with half the heat of the sun.
Then a “textbook” landing sealed the deal: humanity had made it to the moon and back for the first time in half a century. “This is the start of a new era of human space exploration,” proclaimed NASA’s Orion program lead Howard Hu.
A new era which will see frequent space travel to the moon and beyond.
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman described the mission’s four crew as “poets”. For 10 days, Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen spoke of love, connection, joy, awe and grief – moments that seized the hearts of millions who, in many cases, were watching their first-ever mission to the moon in real time.
The astronauts flew more than a million kilometres, reaching further from Earth than any other humans in history, achieving a peak velocity of 39,693km/h and hitting the right flight path within 0.4 per cent of their target angle. They sent back unprecedented images and scientific insights from the moon’s far side.
Artemis III, said flight director Rick Henfling, is now right around the corner. The next mission will launch crew into low Earth orbit to practice docking with lunar landers in preparation for landing astronauts back on the moon in 2028.
What else should you know about the most significant space mission in a generation? We asked seven Australian space experts to tell us their key moments.
An eclipse in space revealed meteor strikes
“My favourite moment was when, during the total solar eclipse, the crew witnessed live meteorite impacts on the lunar surface,” said Katherine Bennell-Pegg, qualified astronaut and Australian of the Year.
“The cameras on the spacecraft weren’t fast enough to capture the impact flashes – one of many examples of why humans are critical up there. Monitoring such impacts is so important, for understanding the risk to future missions and also the lunar environment.”
The director of space technology at the Australian Space Agency, and one of the engineers who contributed to the Artemis missions, was also moved by the tech demos and vehicle checks conducted throughout the astronauts’ journey, which pave the way for future space travel.
Proving the spacecraft supports human life (bar the broken toilet)
“The key moment for me was proving the operation of the Orion spacecraft with a human crew on board. This was a first for the spacecraft that had been in development for over a decade and is key to our future lunar exploration,” Lieutenant General Larry James, former deputy director at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, said.
“The fact that life support worked well (aside from the toilet) and we executed proximity operations that will be key to docking with future lunar landers all bode well for putting humans back on the moon!”
NASA out-classed Musk’s exploding rockets
“My major moment of this mission was actually the success of the launch,” said Professor Andrew Dempster, director of the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research.
“NASA’s longer-term plans are to use this rocket for Mars, and they have taken a hugely different approach to SpaceX in developing a Mars-capable rocket. SpaceX does very fast cycles of development, happy to explode and implode many rockets in the process. NASA takes the more measured, traditional high-reliability approach. So an awful lot was riding on the launch and its success is truly great news.”
The astronauts vanished for 40 minutes
“In many ways this was a routine track for us,” said CSIRO astronomer John Sarkissian, who helped track the Orion spacecraft with CSIRO’s Parkes Murriyang telescope.
“But what made this time so special was when, with my colleagues, we witnessed the radio signal suddenly disappear when the spacecraft moved behind the Moon, and when it reappeared again on the other side, 40 minutes later. It brought home that there were fellow human beings up there seeing a side of the moon never visible from the Earth.”
The moment that broke the world’s heart
“As the crew circled the moon, they discovered two new craters,” said Dr Kirsten Banks, Swinburne University of Technology astrophysicist.
“One they named after their capsule, Integrity, and the other they named Carroll. Carroll is the late wife of Commander Reid Wiseman, who passed away from cancer in 2020. This moment on the livestream had people all over the globe feeling all the feels, and shedding a communal tear for the beauty of this moment. Here were people shattering the record for the farthest humans have ever travelled from Earth, and in that extraordinary moment, what was front of mind was grief, love and community. To me, that says everything beautiful about human nature – that no matter how far we go, we carry each other with us.”
Aussie researchers tested a NASA laser
“A highlight was the demonstration of the optical communication system sending a laser beam from the Orion space capsule to Mount Stromlo in Canberra,” said Swinburne Professor Alan Duffy, referring to Australian National University researchers working with NASA to test the new system.
“Decades of Australian astronomical expertise have meant we could track a spacecraft moving at tens of thousands of kilometres per hour to download huge quantities of precious scientific imagery.”
Apollo Commander passed the torch
Commander Jim Lovell, who flew on Apollo 13 and 8, passed away last year, says head of the Australian Space Agency Enrico Palermo. But before the Artemis II mission Lovell recorded a message played to the crew during their lunar flyby: “Welcome to my old neighbourhood!” Lovell said. “It’s a historic day, and I know how busy you’ll be. But don’t forget to enjoy the view.”
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Angus Dalton is the science reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.