The Artemis II crew made history by photographing the moon’s unseen far side, with significant contributions from NASA’s Goddard Center in Maryland.
GREENBELT, Md. — The Artemis II crew wrapped up a busy day of lunar observations on Monday.
For the first time, the crew saw and photographed the far side of the moon, a region the human eye had previously never seen. Space History is being made — and the DMV is part of it.
“During Artemis II, I helped identify some of the targets that today the crew observed,” said Noah Petro, a NASA research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt.
“Hearing them describe color and textures,” said Petro, “It’s so fulfilling because I, and a team of others, helped define it.”
Crew Member Victor Glover reported back to Earth some of what he saw, saying some of the peaks on the moon were so bright that they looked like they were covered with snow.
Petro says the Artemis crew will do a full debrief with scientists on Tuesday about the experience – and Goddard will help collect and release the images they captured.
“When you see these pictures come down, NASA and Goddard, the key center for coordinating communication with the spacecraft,” said Petro
Other DMV ties include Baltimore Native Astronaut Reid Wiseman, who is the commander on board. Plus, Dr. Kelsey Young is in the ‘Science Chair’ in Mission Control. She’s talking directly to the crew to help them interpret what they’re seeing.
Petro says this is the first time they’ve had this role in Mission Control.
“Kelsey, a proud D.C. Native, not just breaking barriers, but shattering ceilings and doing a tremendous job,” said Petro.
The mission is expected to conclude at the end of the week, with splashdown scheduled for Friday.
“Stay tuned. Do not just assume once the mission splashes down that everything is over, because while this is awesome, the best is really yet to come,” said Petro.
This Lunar Flyby itself also broke records. The crew traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history, bringing us one step closer to astronauts landing on the moon in 2028.