Why are NASA’s Artemis astronauts wearing orange? What are they bringing to space? And what should we know about their preparations for the moon mission?
These custom suits are equipped with survival gear in case the crew needs to exit the spacecraft after splashdown — and they are easily visible in the ocean.
The four astronauts preparing to participate in NASA’s Artemis II moon mission will wear bright orange spacesuits on the Orion spacecraft during this week’s historic launch.
Officially called the Orion Crew Survival System, NASA says the spacesuits can help keep astronauts alive if the crew capsule loses pressure.
"Astronauts could survive inside the suit for up to six days as they make their way back to Earth," the space agency explains on its website.
The suits are also equipped with survival gear should the crew need to exit the spacecraft after splashdown.
Each suit comes with a life preserver that includes a personal locator beacon, a rescue knife, and a signaling kit with a mirror, strobe light, flashlight, whistle, and light sticks.
Why are they wearing neon orange?
“To make crew members easily visible in the ocean,” according to NASA.
The astronauts will also have another spacesuit “that functions as a self-contained personal spacecraft,” designed to be worn outside the spacecraft.
When is the Artemis II mission scheduled to launch?
After weeks of delays, NASA is targeting April 1 for the Artemis II launch — the first U.S. human lunar spaceflight in over 50 years. A two-hour launch window opens Wednesday at 6:24 p.m. ET, with additional launch opportunities through Monday, April 6.
The crew — NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — will not land on the moon. Instead, they will travel 600,000 miles around the moon and return at 30 times the speed of sound, according to NASA.
During their 10-day trip, they will test life support systems in the Orion capsule in preparation for future crewed missions to the moon’s surface. A moon landing is planned for Artemis III, targeted to launch in 2027.
How else is the crew preparing for the mission?
The Artemis II crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Friday and have been in quarantine ahead of the launch.
The four astronauts spent months getting to know each other while preparing for the launch, which Wiseman said helped him as the mission’s commander.
“I can just watch my crewmates here. I know their facial expressions. They know mine. We know when we’re tense. We know when an immediate decision needs to be made,” Wiseman said during a virtual press conference on Sunday.
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