Artemis II crew makes first moon-to-ISS radio call
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- Artemis II astronauts completed the first moonship-to-space station radio call, linking up with the ISS crew while 230,000 miles (370,000 km) apart during their return from the moon, arranged by Houston's Mission Control.
- Christina Koch and Jessica Meir reunited by radio — the two conducted the world's first all-female spacewalk in 2019, with Koch telling her 'astro-sister' she never thought a reunion would be 'like this' and Meir replying she was happy 'even if we are a few miles apart.'
- The mission beamed back more than 50 gigabytes of data and photos by late Tuesday, including an Earthset shot that lead lunar scientist Kelsey Young compared to Apollo 8's 1968 Earthrise image.
- Reid Wiseman and his crew spotted pinprick flashes on the lunar surface from cosmic debris impacts that coincided by chance with Monday evening's total solar eclipse, prompting 'audible screams of delight' in NASA's science operations center, though it's unclear whether the flashes were a meteor shower or random micrometeoroid hits.
- Orion's toilet has been on-and-off limits since launch due to a suspected clogged filter in the overboard flushing system, forcing the crew to use a backup bag-and-funnel system; NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told the crew, 'we definitely have to fix some of the plumbing.'
- Splashdown is targeted for Friday off the San Diego coast aboard recovery ship USS John P. Murtha, setting the stage for next year's Artemis III lunar lander demo and Artemis IV's 2028 south pole landing attempt.
Why it matters: As the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972, Artemis II's 50+ GB of imagery and data — including a new Earthset shot — give NASA its first fresh lunar science haul in over 50 years. The 230,000-mile moonship-to-ISS radio linkup also demonstrated a communications capability the agency will need for the planned 2027 Artemis III lander demo and 2028 Artemis IV south pole landing, both of which depend on resolving Orion's toilet filter issue.
