Vlog 11: Preparing for Artemis II

Uploaded on September 4, 2024

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Vlog 11: Preparing for Artemis II

During his well-deserved summer vacations, CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen took some time to reflect about what the crew and the overall Artemis team have been through to date, and what they have left to do before the launch of the Artemis II mission around the Moon. (Credits: Canadian Space Agency, NASA, Fulwell 73 UK Limited)

Jeremy Hansen: We have a training team that will come up with scenarios, and they'll put us through these simulations that are realistic – not just the crew, but also the Mission Control team – and see how we react.

Taking a little break from training in one of my favourite places: being in nature. This happens to be the woods near our cottage in Ontario and just a great place to be, other than all these little mosquitoes.

I was reflecting a little bit about what the crew and the overall Artemis team have been through to date, and what we have left to do before we launch on Artemis II around the Moon. And I was thinking, you know, maybe I'd highlight three different ways in which we prepare.

One: We test. We learn as a crew and as a team by testing things out, by just trying them. Whenever we can, we test things in the most realistic simulators. When we can, the actual computer boxes if they're available, or emulators that simulate what the vehicle will do.

We learn by getting tested. So we have a training team that will come up with scenarios, and they'll put us through these simulations that are realistic – not just the crew, but also the Mission Control team – and see how we react. And then we can learn from the mistakes we make on the ground before we would have to face them out in space.

And then the third thing is we rehearse. We'll run through things like the day of launch or recovery or other things that we think will be dynamic or challenging, like emergency procedures. And we practise and rehearse these over and over again.

As the vehicle starts to get more ready, this is getting more and more real for me, for the crew. And I'm excited about the testing we have left to do, the testing that we'll undergo and all the practice and rehearsal that we'll go through as we lead up to our day of launch and flying Artemis II around the Moon, and setting us up for future missions to the Moon.

These are exciting times!

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