On July 19, the four astronauts of the Artemis 2 Mission visited Naval Base San Diego, where they will be recovered after completing their mission to the moon. This visit was conducted one day before the 54th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and was followed by a Recovery test in the Pacific Ocean. In preparation for the recovery procedures at the conclusion of the moon mission, both NASA and the Department of Defense used a replica of the Orion spacecraft called the Vehicle Advanced Demonstrator for Emergency Recovery.

During their visit, a photo was taken of the crew inside the replica: NASA commander Reid Wiseman, NASA pilot Victor Glover, NASA mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. These astronauts will also conduct their own recovery tests next year before embarking on their scheduled mission in November 2024.

The purpose of the visit was to allow the crew and ground personnel to become familiar with working together for a safe splashdown and recovery. The crew met with recovery team members to learn about the extraction process from the spacecraft, medical checks on the recovery ship, and the overall recovery procedures. They also had the opportunity to explore the ground equipment and facilities used for practice.

Artemis 2 is part of the Artemis program, which aims to land humans on the moon by 2025 or 2026. The first mission, Artemis 1, took place in 2022 with mannequins onboard. The Artemis 3 mission, which will involve a lunar landing, is dependent on the development of the SpaceX Starship system. Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander is also being considered as an option for future lunar missions.

Under the Artemis Accords, NASA and its partners, including 27 nations, plan to pursue peaceful lunar exploration throughout the 2020s and beyond. Jeremy Hansen secured his seat on Artemis 2 as a result of Canada’s contribution of Canadarm3, a robotic arm, for the NASA Gateway space station.

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