Four astronauts blasted off aboard a NASA rocket on April 1 for a long-waited trip around the moon, America’s first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years. Google CEO Sundar Pichai celebrated NASA’s Artemis II liftoff, wishing success to the four-astronaut crew on their 10-day lunar flyby mission.
Pichai shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) writing: “And we have liftoff! 🚀 Wishing the best to the Artemis II crew on their incredible journey ahead.
” In the post, Pichai also highlighted the inspiring view of earth from space. “Imagining the amazing view they have, looking down at Earth from space would be a beautiful thing,” he wrote.As mentioned above, Artemis II is America’s first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on board. “Today’s launch marks a defining moment for our nation and for all who believe in exploration. Artemis II builds on the vision set by President Donald J. Trump, returning humanity to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years and opening the next chapter of lunar exploration beyond Apollo. Aboard Orion are four remarkable explorers preparing for the first crewed flight of this rocket and spacecraft, a true test mission that will carry them farther and faster than any humans in a generation,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
“Artemis II is the start of something bigger than any one mission. It marks our return to the Moon, not just to visit, but to eventually stay on our Moon Base, and lays the foundation for the next giant leaps ahead.”
Objective of NASA’s Artemis mission
As the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program, among its objectives, the flight will demonstrate life support systems for the first time with crew and lay the foundation for an enduring presence on the Moon ahead of future missions to Mars. The astronauts will take photographs and provide observations of the Moon’s surface as the first people to lay eyes on some areas of the far side. Although the lunar far side will only be partially illuminated during the flyby, the conditions should create shadows that stretch across the surface, enhancing relief and revealing depth, ridges, slopes and crater rims that are often difficult to detect under full illumination.
Crew observations and other human health scientific investigations during the mission, such as AVATAR, will inform science during future Moon missions.
