RILEY RAINS / ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

On the afternoon of April 10, USD students  flocked  to  the  beach, but  not for the usual  sun and  surf. Artemis II landed right outside San Diego’s coast, and many wanted a chance to see — or hear — the “Integrity” crew’s splash back to Earth. The landing was not visible by the naked eye, however, the improbability didn’t discourage some Toreros from trying to see this once-in-a-lifetime landing. Many students tuned  in  through  NASA’s live stream instead.

USD sophomore Ava Pres went to Garbage Beach to watch the Artemis II splash. 

“It was hard to tell where to look as no one really knew where it was going to land,” Pres explained. “But we heard a loud boom just at the time of the landing, a lot like a firework exploding in the distance. Everyone was watching the live stream on their phones at the same time. It was pretty fun to see all these people invested in this.”

Artemis II is the first crewed mission of the Artemis program — a series of five planned endeavors. The Orion  spacecraft,  the  Artemis  II  ship, left  Earth on April 1 and  returned on April 11, marking the first humans to orbit  the moon since 1968. 

The first cosmic expedition of the Artemis project was a test launch of the capsule with no humans inside it. This first preliminary launch had some issues in  2022,  Artemis I was delayed due to hydrogen leaks and valve problems. There were also multiple power interruptions in   the  communication  module  and an unexpected protective outside layer loss during atmospheric reentry. These technical problems caused some anxiety leading up to Artemis II. The mission ran smoothly, omitting a small toilet malfunction that Mission Specialist Christina Koch quickly fixed, coining the nickname “space plumber.”

Artemis III will be an orbital test of the docking system between the space capsule and what NASA will use to  land  on the  moon, set to occur in 2028.The finale’s precursor, Artemis IV, is sending humans back to the moon, boots-on-the-ground and all. The last step of the Artemis mission is a tentative base on the moon. The end goal is to use the moon as a stepping stone to Mars. 

The ongoing mission could  cost  up  to $105 billion dollars by 2028 in its entirety. While these figures were presented by various news sources such as The Washington Post and The New York Times, the total cost is not solidified as engineering projects tend to be  fluid in their magnitude and direction. Some USD students are less than enthusiastic about this expenditure.

Some   USD   students  are  less   than enthusiastic  about  this expenditure.

USD first-year Maxwell Gibbons shared his mixed feelings.  

“I like spending money on cool stuff, like maybe going to Mars,” Gibbons explained. “But I  also think that the money could be  better spent. Not everything  has to be cool.”

The Artemis II mission cost around $4.1 billion dollars to launch four astronauts, Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover and two mission specialists: Christina Koch and Jeremy Hanson out of Earth’s orbit. They slingshotted around the moon before returning safely to Earth within 10 days. The Orion spacecraft utilizes a free-return trajectory, using   both Earth’s and the moon’s  gravitational pull  to their advantage.

The crew was tasked with taking photos and documenting observations of the moon’s surface during their revolution. NASA is collecting high-resolution  images  so scientists  on Earth can  investigate fundamental scientific questions about mankind’s understanding of the moon’s evolution. 

While these photos offer an objective view of the moon, human eyes can detect details that cameras cannot. For example, the crew spotted rays of different colors that the cameras missed — a discovery that alludes to  various  materials and elements  on the moon’s  surface. 

USD professor and quantum physicist Sean Mossman, PhD, has been keeping up with every step of the Artemis journey. He explained the significance of keeping human eyes on the moon at all times. 

“During the entire pass around the backside of the moon, the astronauts  had  very  rigorous  shifts of  who was  going  to   be  at  the  window looking at the moon,” Mossman explained. “They  had  two people at the windows at all times. And they  were  explicitly   told  to make observations of the moon with your eyes and describe it qualitatively.  NASA even asked them to record how  they  felt  about  it. They also  live streamed  it.  Both the science team and the media  outreach  team were working together to bring us all along on the ride.” 

The Orion spacecraft had to cut communication with Houston for 40 minutes on April 6 as they traveled toward the dark side of the moon. The radio transmission was not able to pierce through the moon’s body. Before communication paused, Glover sent Houston a heartfelt message. 

“As we get close to the nearest point to the moon and farthest point from earth, as we continue to unlock the  mysteries  of  the   cosmos,  I  would like to remind you of one of the most important mysteries there on earth, and that is love,” Glover beamed. “We will see you on the other side.”

Scientists who have had the privilege to spacewalk often experience the overview effect. Coined by space philosopher Frank White, the term explains the cognitive shift characterized by an intense   sense   of   awe  and  awareness of Earth’s unity and fragility. 

Integrity  had the  opportunity  to name two craters while they floated among  the  stars.   One  crater they coined  after their team  — Integrity.   The   second  crater,  one of the brightest on the moon, was named after Mission Commander Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll. 

“It was a really heartfelt moment,” Mossman choked. “I was losing it a little bit. I  think it was really  impactful  for   a  lot  of   people.”

Wiseman wept as he put in the request to Houston. After Artemis II was grounded, the crater name proposals were submitted to the International Astronomical Union — the body that governs naming celestial bodies and their respective features. 

While the media outreach team has been touching some Torero’s hearts, others are less convinced. 

USD first-year Lauren Suttie enrolled in a physics class that includes science news as a precursor to their lesson. 

“I  watched  the  highlight  video in  class,”  Suttie  said.  “If   you’ve  ever been at a  science   fair in elementary school, that’s the  vibes that it kind of gave me. It’s meant  to make you think that it’s cool. It’s meant to be like an outreach thing so people who aren’t that invested in space can see it and  be like  ‘oh, this is so cool.’ I thought it was a tad corny.” 

As the science community looks forward to seeing how the future Artemis missions turn out, Toreros are looking toward their    own alumni. Matt Dominick and Jonny Kim were both selected for NASA’s Artemis mission, which makes them eligible for a possible moonwalk during Artemis IV.  

USD     sophomore    Kiera    Sheehan  is  a    USD   tour   guide   and she explained how these Torero alumni will soon be  included in their script. 

“It’s not fully in our guidebook quite yet, but our boss encouraged us to tell the prospective students,” Sheehan said. “The whole reason that it came about is that we had two alumni go on the 2017 mission. It is just USD continuing being a part of space,  it’s  actually  really   fascinating.”

As the Integrity crew returns to their families and the  science talk on campus dies down, all eyes will be on NASA to see if Toreros  will  venture  to   Mars. 

The Artemis II crew share a group hug on their way home after a lunar flyby where they captured updated moon photos. Photo courtesy of @scientific_american/Instagram