Holographic Nails Are Trending—Here's Every Way to Create the Look at Home  instyle.com

Bob Motzko’s Gophers Trending in Wrong Direction Since 2023 Heartbreak  Sports Illustrated

Trending tickers: Adobe, Ulta Beauty, Rubrik, Berkeley and BP  Yahoo Finance UK

The 'trixie' is the volumising, textured haircut trending for spring – 7 versatile styles for every face shape  Cosmopolitan

Husker247 Daily: Nebraska WRs trending up, spring practice observations  247Sports

1. PC makers are not ready for the MacBook Neo  The Verge
2. Apple MacBook Neo is not only cheaper than other Macs, it's also easier to repair  Mashable
3. M5 MacBook Air review: Still the best MacBook for almost everybody  Ars Technica
4. Keyboard Much Easier to Replace on MacBook Neo Than Apple's Other Laptops  PCMag
5. Former Microsoft lead reviews the MacBook Neo: ‘It just has to stay excellent’  9to5Mac

1. New iPhone Fold details include rumored RAM, storage, and pricing  9to5Mac
2. Apple’s Foldable iPhone to Feature iPad-Like Interface When Opened  Bloomberg.com
3. Apple Stays Competitive On New iPhone Fold Price  Forbes
4. Apple’s folding iPhone ‘Ultra’ could cost under $2,000  Macworld
5. iPhone Fold’s crease-free display is about to hit major milestone, per leaker  9to5Mac

1. World's thinnest foldable phone is looking to challenge Samsung with a very striking price tag  supercarblondie.com
2. Honor Robot Phone's launch timeline tipped, Arri's involvement in video as well - GSMArena.com news  GSMArena.com
3. Honor Magic V6 featuring biggest battery opens sale window  Huawei Central
4. Honor Considers Sub-Brand Launch in China; Humanoid Robots Target Consumer Market  Pandaily
5. HONOR wins recognition at MWC 2026 for Robot Phone and Magic V6  Back End News

1. 1st look at Google Maps major AI upgrade with new 'Ask Maps' and 3D navigation tools  abcnews.com
2. How we’re reimagining Maps with Gemini  blog.google
3. Google Maps Gets Chatty With a New Gemini-Powered Interface  WIRED
4. The new Google Maps redesign aims to keep your eyes on the road, not your screen  Fast Company
5. ‘Immersive Navigation’ is the biggest Google Maps driving update in a decade  9to5Google

1. Alexa+ gets a new ‘adults only’ personality option that curses but won’t do NSFW content  TechCrunch
2. New Sassy Personality Style for Alexa Plus Brings Sarcasm and Swear Words  CNET
3. Cheeky Voice Assistant Profiles  Trend Hunter
4. We've just reached peak AI – Alexa+ will now swear at you  T3
5. Alexa+ can now swear, thanks to a new personality style  Engadget

Early morning sunlight illuminates the western wall of this unnamed crater, leaving deep shadows on the ground and in the interior. The image was taken on August 30, 2023, by LROC (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera). LROC is a system of three cameras and one of the seven instruments aboard NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) mission, which launched in June 2009 and continues in orbit around the Moon. LRO’s primary mission was to make a 3D map of the lunar surface to help identify future landing sites and resources such as polar ice, to investigate the radiation environment, and to prove new technologies, all in anticipation of future robotic and human exploration.

In 2011, LRO data led to production of the highest-resolution, near-topographical map of the Moon, and an interactive mosaic of the lunar North Pole was published in 2014. In addition, LRO has taken high-resolution photographs of myriad lunar landing sites from NASA’s Apollo missions and others. LRO also conducted the first demonstration of laser communication with a lunar satellite.

This image is the NASA Science Image of the Month for March 2026. Each month, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate chooses an image to feature, offering desktop wallpaper downloads, as well as links to related topics, activities, and games.

Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Intuitive Machines

Read this web article in English here.

Unos ocho minutos después del despegue de Artemis II, la nave espacial Orion y su tripulación —los astronautas de la NASA Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover y Christina Koch, junto con el astronauta de la CSA (Agencia Espacial Canadiense) Jeremy Hansen— llegarán al espacio. Este vuelo de prueba de casi 10 días de duración estará lleno de actividades a medida que los astronautas emprenden un viaje alrededor de la Luna y de regreso a la Tierra, mientras el personal de la misión comprueba los sistemas de Orion durante el recorrido. Aunque los equipos de control de la misión podrían refinar los detalles del programa de actividades de la tripulación cada día en función de las actividades operativas durante el vuelo de prueba, el personal de tierra y la tripulación tienen un plan general para cada día de la misión.

Día de lanzamiento/Día de vuelo 1:

Cuando se apaguen los motores principales del cohete Sistema de Lanzamiento Espacial (SLS, por sus siglas en inglés), Orion y la etapa de propulsión criogénica provisional (ICPS, por su acrónimo en inglés) se separarán del resto del cohete. La ICPS todavía tendrá trabajo por hacer: unos 49 minutos después del lanzamiento, su motor se encenderá para elevar el perigeo, o el punto más bajo de la órbita de una nave espacial, hasta una altitud segura de 160 kilómetros (100 millas) sobre la Tierra. Alrededor de una hora más tarde, cuando Orion alcance ese perigeo, la ICPS volverá a encenderse para continuar elevando la nave espacial a una órbita terrestre alta. Entonces, la tripulación tendrá cerca de 23 horas para llevar a cabo una verificación exhaustiva de los sistemas de Orion mientras aún esté relativamente cerca de la Tierra.

La tripulación comenzará a comprobar sistemas como el dispensador de agua potable —que proporcionará agua potable y rehidratará los alimentos que llevan—, el inodoro y el sistema que elimina el dióxido de carbono del aire. Los astronautas también podrán quitarse los trajes espaciales naranjas que vistieron para el lanzamiento y trabajar con ropa normal. Dedicarán tiempo a reorganizar el interior de Orion para que funcione como un espacio de vivienda y trabajo para cuatro personas flotantes durante los siguientes 10 días.

Unas tres horas después del inicio de la misión, la NASA llevará a cabo pruebas sobre cómo se maneja Orion.

En futuras misiones, Orion se acoplará a otras naves espaciales. Para verificar que Orion haga esto de manera segura, la ICPS será reutilizada como un objetivo de acoplamiento. Se separará de Orion, y la tripulación practicará cómo pilotar su nave espacial en dirección a la ICPS y a su alrededor en una demostración de operaciones de proximidad. Después de esto, la ICPS volverá a encender sus motores para una maniobra orbital de eliminación que la enviará hacia el océano Pacífico, y Orion continuará en su órbita terrestre alta.

Después de unas ocho horas y media en el espacio, los astronautas dormirán durante un corto período de tiempo. La tripulación se despertará después de unas cuatro horas para efectuar un encendido adicional de motores que pondrá a Orion en la geometría orbital correcta para su maniobra orbital de inyección translunar (TLI, por sus siglas en inglés) en el día de vuelo 2. También aprovechará esta oportunidad para ejecutar una breve comprobación de sus comunicaciones de emergencia con la Red del Espacio Profundo, en el punto más distante de su órbita terrestre alta, lo cual es necesario antes de la TLI.

Después de esto, los astronautas podrán volver a dormir durante otras cuatro horas y media, dando por concluido el día de vuelo 1.

Día de vuelo 2

Wiseman y Glover comenzarán el día instalando y comprobando el dispositivo de ejercicio del volante de inercia de Orion antes de hacer sus primeros entrenamientos físicos de la misión. Koch y Hansen tienen programados sus ejercicios para la segunda mitad del día. Los entrenamientos matutinos proporcionarán otra prueba de los sistemas de soporte vital de Orion antes de abandonar la órbita terrestre.

Koch pasará la mañana preparándose para el evento principal del día: la maniobra orbital para la inyección translunar. La TLI es el último gran encendido de motores de la misión Artemis II y pondrá a Orion en rumbo hacia la Luna. Y dado que Orion empleará una trayectoria de regreso libre para dar la vuelta alrededor del lado lejano de la Luna, el encendido de motores de la TLI también pondrá a Orion en rumbo para regresar a la Tierra en el día de vuelo 10.

Koch configurará el sistema de Orion para ejecutar la maniobra orbital, la cual será realizada por el motor principal de Orion en el Módulo de Servicio Europeo de la nave espacial. También llamado motor del sistema de maniobra orbital, proporciona hasta 2.722 kilogramos (6.000 libras) de empuje, lo suficiente para acelerar un automóvil de cero a 96,5 km/h (60 mi/h) en unos 2,7 segundos.

Después de la TLI, la tripulación tendrá un día menos atareado, con tiempo reservado para aclimatarse al entorno espacial. Contarán con una oportunidad de participar en una comunicación por video de espacio a tierra, la primera de varias que tendrán lugar a lo largo de la misión. Con excepción del día de vuelo 7 —que será el día libre de la tripulación— y el día de aterrizaje, se espera que tengan una o dos de estas oportunidades cada día de la misión.

Día de vuelo 3

El primero de los tres encendidos más pequeños de motores, denominado corrección de la trayectoria de salida, garantizará que Orion se mantenga encaminada[VGMJ(N1]  para su trayectoria alrededor de la Luna, y tendrá lugar el día de vuelo 3. Por la mañana, Hansen se preparará para esta maniobra orbital, la cual está programada para poco después de la comida del mediodía de la tripulación.

El resto del día incluirá diversas comprobaciones y demostraciones. Glover, Koch y Hansen harán una demostración de los procedimientos de reanimación cardiopulmonar en el espacio; Wiseman y Glover revisarán parte del kit médico de Orion, que incluye un termómetro, un monitor de presión arterial, un estetoscopio y un otoscopio.

Koch tiene tiempo reservado en la segunda mitad del día para poner a prueba el sistema de comunicaciones de emergencia de Orion con la Red del Espacio Profundo. Toda la tripulación se reunirá para ensayar la coreografía para el trabajo de observaciones científicas que harán el día de vuelo 6, cuando Orion se acerque más a la Luna.

Día de vuelo 4

Una segunda maniobra orbital de corrección de la trayectoria de salida en el día de vuelo 4 continuará refinando la trayectoria de Orion a la Luna mientras la tripulación perfecciona algunos de sus propios preparativos. Cada astronauta dedicará una hora a revisar los objetivos geográficos de los que se les pedirá que obtengan imágenes el día de vuelo 6. Dado que esos objetivos variarán según la hora y el día del lanzamiento final de la tripulación, esto sirve como una oportunidad para estudiar exactamente lo que observarán a medida que se acerquen a la superficie lunar. Aunque es probable que tomen fotografías y videos desde las ventanas de Orion a menudo, el día de vuelo 4 tiene 20 minutos en el programa dedicados específicamente a tomar fotos de cuerpos celestes desde las ventanas de la nave.

Día de vuelo 5

Orion entrará en la esfera de influencia lunar el día de vuelo 5, marcando el punto en el que la atracción de la gravedad de la Luna se volverá más fuerte que la atracción de la gravedad de la Tierra.

Mientras ingresan en las cercanías de la Luna, la tripulación tendrá un día completo, y dedicarán la mañana casi en su totalidad a llevar a cabo las pruebas de sus trajes espaciales. Oficialmente conocidos como sistema de supervivencia de la tripulación de Orion, los trajes naranjas protegen a la tripulación durante el lanzamiento y el reingreso, pero también podrían usarse en caso de emergencia para proporcionar a cada miembro de la tripulación que tenga puesto este traje una atmósfera respirable durante un máximo de seis días en el caso de que Orion se despresurizara. Al ser los primeros astronautas en usar estos nuevos trajes en el espacio, la tripulación de Artemis II pondrá a prueba su capacidad para ponerse rápidamente los trajes y presurizarlos; instalar sus asientos y sentarse en ellos con los trajes puestos; comer y beber a través de un puerto situado en el casco de los trajes espaciales, y otras funciones.

Durante la tarde de la tripulación, se llevará a cabo la maniobra orbital final de corrección de la trayectoria de salida, antes del sobrevuelo lunar de Orion en el día de vuelo 6.

Día de vuelo 6

La tripulación de Artemis II llegará a su punto más cercano a la Luna en el día de vuelo 6, mientras viaja hasta su punto más alejado de la Tierra. Dependiendo de cuál sea el día de lanzamiento, Artemis II podría establecer un récord de la distancia máxima que un ser humano haya viajado desde la Tierra, para romper el récord actual de 400.171 kilómetros (248.655 millas) de distancia, establecido en 1970 por la tripulación del Apolo 13. La distancia que recorrerá la tripulación de Artemis II dependerá del día y la hora exactos de su lanzamiento.

A lo largo del día, la tripulación se encontrará a una distancia de entre 6.400 y 9.700 km (entre 4.000 y 6.000 millas) de la superficie lunar mientras dan la vuelta alrededor del lado lejano de la Luna. Esta debería verse para ellos del tamaño de una pelota de baloncesto sostenida con el brazo extendido. Dedicarán la mayoría del día a tomar fotografías y videos de la Luna y a grabar sus observaciones, ya que se convertirán en los primeros seres humanos en ver con sus propios ojos algunas partes de la Luna.

Debido a que el ángulo del Sol sobre la Luna cambia casi un grado cada dos horas, la tripulación no sabrá qué condiciones de iluminación les esperan en la superficie lunar hasta el momento del lanzamiento. Si el Sol está alto en el cielo lunar durante el sobrevuelo, habrá pocas sombras y la tripulación buscará variaciones sutiles en el color y la corrección de la superficie. Si el Sol está más bajo en el horizonte, se extenderán largas sombras por la superficie, realzando el relieve y revelando las profundidades, las crestas, las pendientes, y los bordes de los cráteres que a menudo son difíciles de detectar con una iluminación plena. Si el Sol está arriba desde la perspectiva de Orion —como al mediodía en la Tierra—, las sombras serán pocas o inexistentes, creando condiciones de iluminación ideales para obtener imágenes cercanas de características lunares específicas.

La tripulación grabará sus observaciones en tiempo real, mientras toman fotografías y videos, incluso cuando pierdan la comunicación con la Tierra durante 30 a 50 minutos mientras pasen detrás de la Luna. De esa manera, sus observaciones se podrán vincular más tarde con las imágenes exactas que hayan obtenido.

Día de vuelo 7

Orion saldrá de la esfera de influencia lunar en la mañana del día de vuelo 7. Antes de que la tripulación de Artemis II se aleje demasiado de la Luna, los científicos en tierra, ansiosos por saber de ellos mientras la experiencia aún está fresca en sus mentes, tendrán tiempo para hablar con la tripulación.

En la segunda mitad del día de la tripulación, el motor de Orion volverá a encenderse para la primera de las tres maniobras orbitales de corrección de la trayectoria de regreso que ajustarán la trayectoria de Orion hacia la Tierra.

La tripulación tendrá libre gran parte del resto del día, lo que les dará la oportunidad de descansar antes de retomar sus tareas finales previas a su regreso a la Tierra.

Día de vuelo 8

Las actividades principales para el día de vuelo 8 incluyen dos demostraciones de Orion.

Primero, la tripulación evaluará su capacidad para protegerse de eventos de gran radiación como las erupciones solares. Utilizarán los suministros y equipamientos de Orion para construir un refugio y cubrirse si fuera necesario. La radiación será una preocupación constante conforme los seres humanos se aventuren en el espacio profundo, y se llevarán a cabo diferentes experimentos con el fin de recopilar datos sobre los niveles de radiación dentro de Orion.

Al final del día, la tripulación hará una prueba de la capacidad de pilotaje manual de Orion conduciendo la nave espacial a través de una serie de tareas. Centrarán un objetivo elegido desde las ventanas de Orion, pasarán a una posición orientada de cola al Sol y efectuarán maniobras de orientación con relación al plano de vuelo comparando los modos de seis grados de libertad y tres grados de libertad de control de orientación de la nave.

Día de vuelo 9

El último día completo de Artemis II en el espacio comenzará con los preparativos para su regreso a la Tierra. La tripulación tendrá tiempo reservado para estudiar sus procedimientos de reingreso y amerizaje, y para hablar con el personal de control de vuelo. Otra maniobra orbital de corrección de la trayectoria de regreso garantizará que la nave espacial permanezca encaminada para ese regreso.

La tripulación completará otras demostraciones para cubrir su lista de tareas pendientes: sistemas de recolección de desechos en caso de que el inodoro de Orion no funcione correctamente y comprobaciones del ajuste de las prendas de vestir para combatir la intolerancia ortostática. La intolerancia ortostática —la cual puede causar síntomas como mareos y aturdimiento al estar de pie— es una posibilidad para los astronautas cuando regresan a la Tierra y sus cuerpos deben readaptarse a la fuerza de la gravedad sobre su suministro de sangre. Las prendas de compresión, que se usan debajo de los trajes espaciales, pueden aliviar estos síntomas.

Los miembros de la tripulación se probarán las prendas, tomarán medidas de su circunferencia corporal y completarán un cuestionario sobre cómo les quedan[VGMJ(N2]  y qué tan fácil es ponerse y quitarse esta ropa.

Día de vuelo 10

El último día de la misión Artemis II está centrado en traer a la tripulación a salvo de regreso a la Tierra. Una última maniobra orbital de corrección de la trayectoria de regreso garantizará que Orion esté en la trayectoria correcta para el amerizaje. Además, la tripulación regresará la cabina a su configuración original —con el equipamiento guardado y los asientos en su lugar— y volverá a ponerse sus trajes espaciales.

El módulo de la tripulación se separará del módulo de servicio, cuyos motores los han conducido alrededor de la Luna y de regreso a la Tierra. Esto expondrá el escudo térmico del módulo de la tripulación, el cual protegerá a la nave espacial y a la tripulación a medida que regresan atravesando la atmósfera terrestre con temperaturas de hasta unos 1.650 grados Celsius (3.000 grados Fahrenheit). Una vez que hayan superado con seguridad el calor del reingreso, la cubierta que protegía la bahía delantera de la nave espacial será desechada para dar paso al despliegue de una serie de paracaídas: dos paracaídas de frenado que reducirán la velocidad de la cápsula hasta unos 494 kilómetros por hora (307 millas por hora), seguidos por tres paracaídas piloto que desplegarán los últimos tres paracaídas principales. Estos reducirán la velocidad de Orion hasta casi 27 km/h (17 mi/h) para el amerizaje en el océano Pacífico, donde estará esperando el personal de la NASA y la Marina de Estados Unidos, concluyendo así la misión Artemis II.

About eight minutes after Artemis II lifts off, the Orion spacecraft and its crew, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will be in space. The approximately 10-day test flight will be packed with activity as the astronauts venture around the Moon and back, with teams checking out Orion’s systems along the way. While teams in mission control could refine the crew’s schedule each day based on operational activities during the test flight, ground teams and the crew have a general plan for each day of the mission.

Launch Day/Flight Day 1:

Once the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s main engines cutoff, Orion and the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) separate from the rest of rocket. The ICPS still has work to do – about 49 minutes after launch, its engine will fire to raise the perigee, or lowest point of a spacecraft’s orbit, to a safe altitude of 100 miles above Earth. About an hour later, when Orion reaches that perigee, the ICPS will fire again to continue raising the spacecraft into a high-Earth orbit. The crew will then have about 23 hours to do a thorough checkout of Orion’s systems while still relatively close to home.

The crew will start testing systems like the potable water dispenser that will provide drinking water and rehydrate the food they brought along, the toilet, and the system that removes carbon dioxide from the air. The crewmates also can take off the orange spacesuits worn for launch and work in regular clothing. They’ll spend time rearranging Orion’s interior to function as a living and workspace for four floating people over the next 10 days.

About three hours into the mission, NASA will test how Orion handles.

On future missions, Orion will dock with other spacecraft. To verify Orion will do so safely, the ICPS will be repurposed as a docking target. It will separate from Orion, and the crew will practice flying their spacecraft toward and around it in a proximity operations demonstration. Afterward, the ICPS will fire its engines again for a disposal burn that will send it into the Pacific Ocean, and Orion will continue its high Earth orbit.

After about eight-and-a-half hours in space, the astronauts will sleep for a short period. The four astronauts will be awakened after about four hours to perform an additional engine firing that will put Orion into the correct orbital geometry for its translunar injection (TLI) burn on flight day 2. They’ll also take the opportunity to perform a brief check out of their emergency communications on the Deep Space Network, at the most-distant point of their high Earth orbit, which is necessary before the TLI.

After this, they’ll be able to go back to sleep for another four-and-a-half hours, wrapping up flight day 1.

Flight Day 2

Wiseman and Glover will begin their day setting up and checking out Orion’s flywheel exercise device before getting in their first workouts of the mission. Koch and Hansen have exercise scheduled for the second half of the day. The morning workouts will provide another test of Orion’s life support systems before leaving Earth orbit.

Koch will spend her morning preparing for the main event of the day – the translunar injection burn. The TLI is the last major engine firing of the Artemis II mission and will set Orion on the path to the Moon. And since Orion is using a free-return trajectory to swing around the far side of the Moon, the TLI engine firing also puts Orion on the path to return to Earth on flight day 10.

Koch will set up Orion’s system to perform the burn, done by Orion’s main engine on the spacecraft’s European Service Module. Also called the orbital maneuvering system engine, it provides up to 6,000 pounds of thrust – enough to accelerate a car from 0 to 60 mph in about 2.7 seconds.

Following TLI, the crew has a lighter day of activity, with time set aside to acclimate to the space environment. They’ll have an opportunity to participate in a space to ground video communication – the first of several that will take place throughout the mission. With the exception of flight day 7 – the crew’s off-duty day – and landing day, they are expected to have one or two of these opportunities each day of the mission.

Flight Day 3

The first of three smaller engine firings, called the outbound trajectory correction, will ensure Orion is staying on target for its path around the Moon and will take place on flight day 3. Hansen will prepare for the burn in the morning, which is scheduled to happen shortly after the crew’s midday meal.

The rest of the day will include a variety of checkouts and demonstrations. Glover, Koch, and Hansen will demonstrate CPR procedures in space; Wiseman and Glover will checkout some of Orion’s medical kit, including the thermometer, blood pressure monitor, stethoscope, and otoscope.

Koch has time set aside in the second half of the day to test Orion’s emergency communications system on the Deep Space Network. The entire crew will come together to rehearse the choreography for the scientific observation work they’ll do on flight day 6, when Orion comes the closest to the Moon.

Flight Day 4

A second outbound trajectory correction burn on flight day 4 will continue to refine Orion’s path to the Moon as the crew perfects some of their own preparations. They’ll each have an hour devoted to reviewing the geography targets they’ll be asked to get imagery of on flight day 6. Since those will vary depending on the crew’s final launch time and day, this serves as an opportunity to study exactly what they’ll be looking for as they draw close to the lunar surface. Although they will likely take photos and video out of Orion’s windows often, flight day 4 has 20 minutes on the schedule specifically dedicated to taking photos of celestial bodies from Orion’s windows.

Flight Day 5

Orion will enter the lunar sphere of influence on flight day 5, marking the point at which the pull of the Moon’s gravity will become stronger than the pull of the Earth’s gravity.

As they enter the Moon’s neighborhood, the crew will have a full day, with the morning almost entirely devoted to tests of their spacesuits. Officially called the Orion crew survival system, the orange suits protect the crew during launch and reentry, but also could be used in an emergency to provide the crew member wearing it with a breathable atmosphere for up to six days if Orion depressurized. As the first astronauts to wear the new suits in space, the Artemis II crew will be testing their ability to quickly put the suits on and pressurize them; install their seats and get into them while wearing the suits; eat and drink through a port on the spacesuits’ helmet; and other functions.

During the crew’s afternoon, the final outbound trajectory correction burn will take place before Orion’s lunar flyby on flight day 6.

Flight Day 6

The Artemis II crew will come their closest to the Moon on flight day 6, while traveling the farthest from Earth. Artemis II could set a record for the farthest anyone has traveled from Earth depending on launch day, breaking the current record – 248,655 miles away – set in 1970 by the Apollo 13 crew. The distance the Artemis II crew will travel depends on their exact launch day and time.

Over the course of the day, the crew will come within 4,000 to 6,000 miles of the lunar surface as they swing around the far side of the Moon – it should look to them about the size of a basketball held at arm’s length. They will devote the majority of their day to taking photos and videos of the Moon, and recording their observations as they become the first to see some parts of the Moon with their own eyes.

Because the Sun’s angle on the Moon changes by about one degree every two hours, the crew won’t be sure what lighting conditions to expect on the lunar surface until they launch. If the Sun is high in the lunar sky during the flyby, there will be few shadows, and the crew will be looking for subtle variations in surface color and rightness. If the Sun is lower on the horizon, long shadows will stretch across the surface, enhancing relief and revealing depth, ridges, slopes, and crater rims that are often difficult to detect under full illumination. If the Sun is overhead from Orion’s perspective – like noon on Earth – shadows will be few to nonexistent, creating ideal lighting conditions for close-up imaging of specific lunar features.

The crew will record their observations in real time, as they take photos and videos – including when they lose communication with Earth for 30-50 minutes as they pass behind the Moon. That way, their observations can later be linked with the exact images they took.

Flight Day 7

Orion will exit the lunar sphere of influence the morning of flight day 7. Before the Artemis II crew gets too far away from the Moon, scientists on the ground, eager to hear from them while the experience is still fresh in their minds, will have time to speak with the crew.

In the second half of the crew’s day, the Orion engine will fire again for the first of three return trajectory correction burns that will adjust Orion’s path home.

The rest of the day will be largely off-duty for the crew, giving them a chance to rest before jumping back into their final tasks before their return to Earth.

Flight Day 8

The primary activities for flight day 8 include two Orion demonstrations.

First, the crew will assess their ability to protect themselves from high radiation events like solar flares. They’ll use Orion’s supplies and equipment to build a shelter for cover if needed. Radiation will be an ongoing concern as humans venture into deep space, and multiple experiments will be aimed at collecting data on the radiation levels inside Orion.

At the end of the day, the crew will try out Orion’s manual piloting capability by steering the spacecraft through a variety of tasks. They’ll center a chosen target in Orion’s windows, move into a tail-to-Sun attitude, and perform attitude maneuvers comparing the craft’s six-degree-of-freedom and three-degree-of-freedom attitude control modes.

Flight Day 9

Artemis II’s last full day in space will kick off with prep for their return to Earth. The crew has time set aside to study their procedures for reentry and splashdown, and talk with the flight control team. Another return trajectory correction burn will ensure the spacecraft remains on target for that return.

The crew will complete more demonstrations to check off their to-do list: waste collection systems in case the Orion toilet doesn’t function properly and orthostatic intolerance garment fit checks. Orthostatic intolerance – which can cause symptoms such as dizziness and lightheadedness while standing – is a possibility for astronauts when they return to Earth and their bodies must readapt to the pull of gravity on their blood supply. Compression garments, worn under spacesuits, can help.

The crew members will try their garments on, take body circumference measurements, and complete a questionnaire on how it fits, and how easy it is to put on and take off.

Flight Day 10

The last day of the Artemis II mission is focused on getting the crew safely home. A final return trajectory correction burn will ensure Orion is on the right path for splashdown, and the crew will return their cabin to its original set up – with equipment stowed and seats in place – and get back into their spacesuits.

The crew module will separate from the service module, whose engines have steered them around the Moon and back to Earth. This will expose the crew module’s heat shield, which will protect the spacecraft and crew as they make their way back through Earth’s atmosphere and temperatures of up about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Once safely through the heat of reentry, the cover that protected the spacecraft’s forward bay will be jettisoned to make way for a series of parachutes to deploy – two drogue parachutes that will slow the capsule down to about 307 miles per hour, followed by three pilot parachutes that will pull out the final three main parachutes. These will slow Orion down to approximately 17 mph for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, where NASA and U.S. Navy personnel will be waiting for them, concluding the Artemis II mission.

A testing replica of the “backbone” of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and a full-scale model of the agency’s Parker Solar Probe are now on permanent display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

“From touching the Sun with Parker Solar Probe to creating humanity’s most powerful window into the cosmos with the James Webb Space Telescope, these missions show what humanity can achieve as we continue to push the boundaries of human knowledge through visionary science,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “It’s not just the iconic hardware from these NASA missions on display — it’s the courage, skill, and ingenuity of the scientists, engineers, and teams who dared to turn the nearly impossible into reality.”

Webb’s Optical Telescope Element Pathfinder is the largest intact mirror support structure of its kind, standing over 21 feet tall, with a secondary mirror that when fully deployed reaches more than 26 feet. This pathfinder was constructed as a high-fidelity telescope nearly identical to Webb, the largest and most powerful space telescope ever built. Webb’s science goals required an exceptionally precise mirror, too large to fit fully deployed in any available rocket. The mission’s enormous size, complexity, and extreme temperature requirements demanded a comprehensive rethinking of how to test a spacecraft for the rigors of spaceflight. The pathfinder served a key role in surmounting these challenges.

“NASA is proud to see the James Webb Space Telescope Optical Telescope Element Pathfinder on display at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center,” said Mike Davis, NASA’s project manager for the Webb telescope at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “This remarkable test structure helped engineers prepare the largest space telescope ever built. Standing before it, visitors can glimpse not only the immense scale of Webb, but also the human curiosity and ingenuity that drive us to reach beyond our world and explore the universe.”

Joining the Webb pathfinder on display is a replica of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe. Built and operated at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, Parker is more than seven years into its daring mission, with numerous successful encounters bringing the spacecraft just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface at a blazing 430,000 mph — faster and closer than any spacecraft in history. Despite brutal temperatures and radiation conditions, Parker Solar Probe has completed 27 of these close approaches to collect unprecedented data from the only star we can study up close. The replica allows visitors insight into the innovative technology behind the spacecraft’s ability to survive and successfully sample the Sun’s super-heated outer atmosphere.

Also built at APL, the Parker replica stands 10 feet high, 21.5 feet long, and 8.5 feet wide and includes several of the mission’s spare parts. Several of the components are exact duplicates of the hardware now in space, built to be swapped if flight hardware failed in prelaunch testing. These components include the heat shield that protects the probe from temperatures nearing 2,000 Fahrenheit and a camera called WISPR (the Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe) that views and records the Sun’s activity just off the surface. The model also includes a copy of the solar array cooling system that circulates water through solar panels to survive the Sun in close approaches.

“Parker Solar Probe has been vital for giving us an up-close look at one of the most extreme environments in our solar system, showing us where space weather is born,” said Adam Szabo, Parker Solar Probe mission scientist at NASA Goddard. “This information is key to understanding the Sun’s upper atmosphere and how it affects us.”

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).

Parker Solar Probe was developed as a part of NASA’s Living With a Star (LWS) program to explore aspects of the Sun-Earth system that directly affect life and society. The LWS program is managed by the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Johns Hopkins APL manages Parker Solar Probe for NASA and designed, built, and operates the mission.

To learn more about NASA’s science missions, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov

By Thaddeus Cesari, Desiree Apodaca
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Related Links

Webb Observatory

Optical Telescope Element (OTE)

Backplane

Mirrors

Story of Webb’s Build in Images

The Graphics and Visualization Lab (GVIS) at NASA Glenn Research Center creates a variety of immersive visualizations and simulations in support of NASA’s missions, projects, and future innovations. These visual tools help scientists, engineers, and researchers develop new solutions that bring their projects to life.

Virtual System Simulations

The GVIS Lab prides itself on creating engaging and informational virtual system simulations for NASA missions. These simulations transform complex engineering concepts into digestible visualizations and immersive experiences, bridging the gap between concept and reality. These simulations bring greater understanding of systems typically hidden from view, such as the inside of an engine or how elements behave inside of a fuel cell.

The GVIS Lab is able to create system simulations in a variety of formats depending on the desires of the customer and the purpose of the simulation. These formats can be take the form of an interactive demo or video and can be in augmented reality, virtual reality, or a 3D model.

“Virtual system simulations empower customers to see and experience capabilities before they’re built, reducing risk, accelerating decision making, and ensuring mission requirements are met with confidence,” says Extended Reality developer Marc Frances. “By translating complex data and concepts into immersive, intuitive experiences using augmented reality, they help customers validate performance, improve training outcomes, and maximize return on investment.”

The above visual system simulation is an exploded view of the High-Efficiency Megawatt Motor (HEMM). The HEMM is a 1.4 megawatt electric machine being developed at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland to improve efficiency in future aircraft with electrified propulsion systems. This virtual reality simulation shows an exploded view of HEMM, allowing for an intricate view of the beautifully designed motor. The simulation showcases how the GVIS Lab takes complex systems and creates comprehendible visual ones. Simulations like these are especially vital for projects in development, such as HEMM. These simulations allow for customers to see their completed projects in ways they could never imagine, years before project completion.

Interactive Experiences

The above visualization is a virtual reality interactive experience of GRX-810, a NASA created super-alloy. This super-alloy dramatically improves the strength and durability of the components and parts used in aviation and space exploration, resulting in better and longer-lasting performance. The magic of GRX-810 lies within its unique chemical composition, a feature which is invisible to the human eye. Comprehending elemental processes can be unintuitive for people outside of chemical and material engineering. But, with the power of virtual reality users are able to come to a deeper understanding of how GRX-810 works along with its benefits. The game-like structure of the visualization leads to an interactive, engaging, and exciting learning experience.

Public Outreach

The GVIS Lab sometimes creates system simulations specifically for public outreach and museum displays. The above simulation is of a non-flow-through fuel cell. The simulation begins with a model of the fuel cell, then zooms into a molecular view of the fuel cell. A fuel cell converts hydrogen into oxygen to create electricity. In the molecular model, users can interact with power, display speed, and change the amount of impurities in the system to see how these variables change the system. This simulation was created for the Great Lakes Science Center, the premier science technology museum in Cleveland, Ohio which hosts over 300,000 visitors annually. Because of this simulation created by the GVIS Lab, thousands of curious minds now have a better understanding of fuel cells and how they create electricity.

Contact Us

Need to reach us? In need of a virtual systems simulation? You can send an email directly to the GVIS Team (GRC-DL-GVIS@mail.nasa.gov).

According to Index Ventures Partner Shardul Shah, cybersecurity startup Wiz sits “at the center of three tailwinds: AI, cloud, and security spend.” Those tailwinds powered what just became the largest venture-backed acquisition in history — Google’s $32 billion deal, finalized after a declined 2024 offer, antitrust review on both sides of the Atlantic, and an […]

Apple dropped its App Store commission rates to 25% in China, and commissions on auto-renewed subscriptions down to 12%.

The FBI believes a series of video games published on Steam in the last two years were embedded with malware by the same hacker.

Peacock is betting on new AI-powered video experiences, vertical clips, and mobile games to help its growth.

The launch comes just two years after a major reboot at Hyundai-owned Motional. The service will start with a safety monitor, which Motional hopes to remove by year's end.