What Artemis II saw on the moon

0:01Cady Coleman:WBUR Podcasts, Boston.

0:06Jacob Bleacher:We will construct science outposts. We will drive rovers. We will do radio astronomy. We will found companies. We will boast our industry. We will inspire. But ultimately, we will always choose Earth. We will always choose each other. Cosmic thoughts from astronaut Christina Koch during her trip around the moon.

0:38Jacob Bleacher:it's tuesday april 7th and this is here and now anytime from npr and wbur i'm chris bentley out of all the billions of people who've ever lived just a few hundred have ever gazed back down at our planet from space. Almost all of them did so from Earth's orbit. Until this month, only the 24 astronauts on the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 70s had ever inched out of that orbit. And now that number is 28. Today on the show, a little ground control chatter about NASA's Artemis 2 mission, which is on its way back to Earth after soaring more than 252 ,000 miles into space and looping around the far side of the moon.

1:27Jacob Bleacher:Its crew traveled farther from Earth than any humans ever before them and brought back scientific data in addition to an inspiring sense of awe. Here's crew member Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency. You know, right away you are humbled. The fact that four of us get to be out here just brings you to your knees. The thought that we get this experience, we're doing our best to show it. I know those photos are amazing, but let me assure you, it is another level of amazing up here. Those photos are amazing. But sometimes you get even more information from the astronauts' descriptions of what they saw, according to Jacob Bleacher, who has the very cool job title of Chief Exploration Scientist at NASA.

2:14Jacob Bleacher:He spoke to Scott Tong. You know, there are so many amazing images coming into us right now from yesterday's experience. What really strikes me is yesterday, we were watching a live video feed as they were going, and the detail they were able to describe that we could not see in that lower resolution video was amazing. And now we're seeing those pictures coming in and just the crispness of what they can see on the surface. I think really, though, the eclipse pictures are just, they are stunning to me. I am amazed by them. Yeah, and just describe a little bit. A lot of us may not have seen, just describe the eclipse image.

2:56Jacob Bleacher:Yeah, so during the flyby around the far side of the moon yesterday, the astronauts were able to look at the moon for several hours. They were using the training that they've received to describe what they were seeing to the science team back here. And during that flight, they also experienced a situation where the moon was eclipsing their view of the sun from their position in the Orion spacecraft. So we were able to watch basically the sun set on one side of the moon and then rise on the other. But while it was behind the moon, it was amazing to hear the astronauts describe what they could see, even though from our perspective on the video feed, it seemed like just a black void, they were able to see so much detail.

3:41Jacob Bleacher:And then they could see the corona of the sun and just the light of the sun around the limb of the moon. And those are the types of images that we're now getting back. So your job as exploration scientist, can you tell us a little more about what else the Artemis II team is learning about the moon? Yeah, so they were asked to specifically look for albedo variations, potentially any color that they could pick up on. The human eye is able to really decipher a lot more than most of our cameras, which are very specifically designed for specific wavelengths. So it's been pretty impressive to see the detail that they're able to pick out.

4:25Jacob Bleacher:Yeah, I want to play a little bit more audio with the crew. This is when they were naming two craters. One name was Integrity, to honor the spacecraft, and the other one, Carol, the late wife of the commander Reed Wiseman. She died of cancer a few years ago. It's a bright spot on the moon. And we would like to call her Carol. And you spell that C-A-R-R-O-L-L. Integrity and Carol Crater, loud and clear. Thank you. Wow. What do you observe about the crew, the human side? We're getting asked a lot of questions about, you know, what this feels like. There's two big E's right now. There's exciting and there's emotional.

5:16Jacob Bleacher:These are four amazing human beings. You know, they have kind of been carrying the slogan, they go for all humanity. And I can't really think of better or better stewards of humanity out there. You know, this is an international crew, including a Canadian participant, Jeremy. And it's just, it's been amazing to watch them train together, work together, but not just the four of them. The way that they coordinate with the rest of the Artemis team as a whole. And just, they have taken it upon themselves to be those representatives of humankind. And it's just impressive. Yeah. And the human side, the emotion side, quick lighter note, do I understand that the space meal plan includes a jar of Nutella?

6:04Jacob Bleacher:I believe that they do have access to some exciting foods and the things that they're enjoying up there. So, yeah, you know, that's one of the big pieces. What you eat is a big part of humanity for sure. Yeah, no kidding. Jacob Leacher is NASA's chief exploration scientist. So exciting to talk to you, Jacob. Thanks so much. Best to you and your team. Yeah, thanks for having us and helping us tell this story. We appreciate it.

6:36Jacob Bleacher:Scott is not paid for his product placement of Nutella, I assure you. We've got more on what it's like to actually be in space, that emotional side that they were just talking about from someone who knows firsthand. Coming up after the break.

7:02Jacob Bleacher:This Earth Day, a one-in-a-kind adventure begins. From WBUR, the creators of Circle Round and Endless Thread. Do you prefer your fruit hot or not? comes a new interactive story. A hundred years into our flooded future, the Midnight Rebellion is coming. April 22nd, wherever you get your podcasts. The crew of Artemis II had to accelerate to over 24 ,000 miles per hour to work loose the yoke of Earth's gravity. After that, it was a cakewalk, relatively speaking, when it comes to the physics. just boomerang around the moon and fall back to Earth. The crew is scheduled to splash down off the coast of San Diego Friday evening around 5 o 'clock Pacific.

7:53Jacob Bleacher:But it's not all lofty goals and stirring rhetoric. NASA said the crew also had to deal with some minor computer glitches and issues with the ship's toilet. Katie Coleman knows all about space travel's ups and downs, which in zero-g are really one and the same. She's a former NASA astronaut and retired colonel from the United States Air Force. She spoke earlier today with Indira Lakshmanan.

8:21Cady Coleman:So what was your reaction when you saw these incredible close-up pictures of the moon as we've never seen her before and also heard the voices of astronauts who you probably know? Oh, I do. You know, it's like a family. and I did leave there in a certain, you know, back in 2016, 17, but you're always a part of that family. This is like a relay race in Dara where this is Artemis II and right on the heels of that comes Artemis III and IV and the Artemis III mission is, it's like they're waiting on the starting line with their hand, you know, in back of them waiting for the baton and the baton is about to land.

9:02Cady Coleman:So it's a very exciting time. Well, actually, let's talk a little bit more about that. How Artemis II's mission clears the path for future lunar missions. How does Artemis II hand off the baton to science and discovery that will be done by the next team? Well, there's two very different things, but this crew manages to do them together, which is amazing, which is the technical. Okay, what do we need to know before we can go further? and so they tested the spacecraft right after they ejected the last stage, the upper stage. In order to really understand how that thing works, you have to actually, that Orion capsule, you know, how it flies, you have to have something close by to see if you like speed up and then you come back, you know, what response do you get and also importantly, how does that feel compared to the simulators that you've been using?

9:55Cady Coleman:So this allows everybody to be having a more realistic expectation of how the capsule flies for future rendezvous. But it's also future, you know, is the, you know, air conditioning, not air conditioning, but, you know, heating, cooling, removing the CO2 from the atmosphere, the toilet, the living arrangements. Is there enough, you know, Velcro around to put stuff on, but not so much that everybody's getting screwed. You know, there's just all these things to wring out. And that's that sort of technical pathway that, I mean, those little things can make a big difference. But then there's the wonder and inspiration.

10:34Cady Coleman:And I think that by being so personal on this mission, by sharing so much of themselves, they have brought so many people with them and they do it in a very intentional way. Like, we know you are there. We know you want to be with us and we are taking you. And I just so admire that. And I think that that opens up the door for everybody to realize that home is bigger than we thought and the moon is part of it. Well, Katie Coleman, former NASA astronaut, tell us during their loop around the moon, this current team took geological observations noting color changes on the lunar surface. What do these observations tell us?

11:12Cady Coleman:They tell the scientists who then tell us,

11:18Cady Coleman:the big thing is it is more than what a satellite taking photos can tell them. And it is because the human eye apparently can just see color and see differences in light in a different way than the best cameras that we have right now. And so these human operations and also their vantage point, the Apollo missions did get to see some of the dark side of the moon, but not probably a third of it or so. But also they were about 70 miles from the surface, maybe 100. whereas these folks were 4 ,000. So they're seeing sort of the whole playing field and they get to see not just this crater, but its neighbor and how high is that ridge next to it.

12:03Cady Coleman:And Christina had a great example. I didn't listen to all of yesterday, but I heard different things where she said, well, you've been talking to us about the site. We've looked at it, but what I'm seeing is so different. And that is because there are many, many tiny little craters and the tops of them are very bright. And so it's almost like a lampshade, you know, with little pinpricks of light. Well, I understand that's the human part. Yeah. Well, and the color changes also help scientists understand the composition of minerals on the surface. So NASA has told us that could help plan for future robotic landings on the far side of the moon.

12:38Cady Coleman:But I want to ask you, Katie, you know, now they've broken the record of the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth. For you, as someone who's completed two space shuttle missions, why is that important? And what are your hopes and predictions for what else is possible in our lifetimes? Well, I also lived for almost six months up on the space station, which, you know, paves the way for things like this. And the fact that they've gone further, it is literally meaning, okay, we're trying to go further and further from our planet. And they have done that. And they have gone further than anyone has been in 50-something years.

13:16Cady Coleman:And it is about the fact that we are exploring and no one can hold. And I don't mean NASA. I mean everyone from this planet exploring together. Katie Coleman, former NASA astronaut, author of Sharing Space, an astronaut's guide to mission wonder and making change. Thank you, Katie.

13:41Jacob Bleacher:Let's take one more short break and we'll be right back.

13:50Jacob Bleacher:We are keeping our eyes on the sky as the Artemis crew returns from the moon. Follow along at npr.org. And meanwhile, we're also having some conversations that are very down-to-earth at hereandnow.org. We all know there's such a thing as oversharing, but don't overcorrect. Harvard Business School professor Leslie John says, going even just one layer deeper in conversations than you normally do can help you strengthen your relationships, both professional and personal. She wrote a book about it called Revealing, the Underrated Power of Oversharing. Here is a bit of her conversation with Indira.

14:32Jacob Bleacher:The line is always moving. The line between TMI and what I call TLI, too little information, it depends so much on context. So to be good at revealing, and I really think that revealing is a skill. We can all get better at it with practice. We need to really hone our situational awareness. We really need to read the room. Who are we thinking of revealing to and so on? And to go back to your question about social media, that's a spot where we really are prone to oversharing in the true sense because it's just such a foreign context for us to navigate. And then as we know, there's entities, firms that have interests that aren't quite aligned with hours.

15:11Jacob Bleacher:So that's where we're most prone, I would say, to really saying too much to the wrong people is in those social media contexts.

15:20Cady Coleman:Okay. What do you say to people who might be concerned about privacy or even safety? I mean, for example, I'm a quite open person in my real life relationships, but I never share photos of my family or holidays or personal opinions on social media because that feels like public exposure. It feels intrusive to me.

15:42Jacob Bleacher:Totally. I'm the same way. I don't have social media on my phone. I think it's largely toxic, but it is important in terms of if you want to get information out to people. But yeah, I mean, I've come from, I like to call myself a recovering privacy expert because the first 10 years of my career were spent, you know, basically lecturing people about how we suck at privacy and Now we overshare and we do all these things we shouldn't do. But then I realized, yes, of course there's oversharing. Of course we make mistakes largely online. But that's not wrong, but it's not right. The single most consistent thing that emerged from my research over 15 plus years at this point is the fact that when I make people feel safe, when I make it relational, when I make it fun, they really want to share.

16:26Jacob Bleacher:And there's even studies indicating that when people's brains are scanned as they are self-disclosing, it activates the pleasure centers of the brain, right? And so we know that nature has a way of making what's good for us pleasurable in the right dose. And so that's where I think your question is really important, in the right dose. We, of course, have to be careful of our privacy. And we really do, a lot of the privacy concerns I have are similar to what you said, A, social media, but B, sharing stuff that's not mine to share, right? Sharing stuff about my children that's just not mine to share.

17:00Jacob Bleacher:Leslie John and Indira Lakshmanam share plenty more in that conversation. And you can listen to the whole thing right now at hereandnow.org. But that's all we're sharing on this episode of Here and Now Anytime, which comes from NPR and WBUR Boston. Today's stories were produced by Hafsa Qureshi and Jenna Griffiths and edited by Kat Welch. Michael Scotto edited the podcast, technical direction from Caleb Green and Matt Reed. Our theme music is by Mike Moschetto, Max Liebman, and me, Chris Bentley. Our digital producers are Alison Hagen and Grace Griffin, and the executive producer of Here and Now is Alan Price.

17:39Jacob Bleacher:Thanks for listening. Happy stargazing, and we'll be back with you tomorrow.