1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff. Lauren Vogel bomb here. After its first 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:15,480 Speaker 1: two launch attempts were scrub NASA's Artemis one mission finally 4 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 1: lifted off from Kennedy Space Center's Pad thirty nine B 5 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: in the early hours of November six. The last time 6 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,400 Speaker 1: that NASA astronauts walked on the lunar surface was nearly 7 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: half a century ago. Those Apollo missions to the Moon 8 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 1: were named after the Greek god of the Sun. In 9 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: a way, it makes far more sense for these new 10 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: Moon missions to be named after Artemis, Greek goddess of 11 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: the Moon and Apollo's twin sister. The missions will also 12 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: land the first woman and the first person of color 13 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: on the Moon. Artemis one is essentially an unscrewed rehearsal 14 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,159 Speaker 1: for crude flight that will journey to the Moon and 15 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: land somewhere in its southern polar region. It's the first 16 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: integrated test of the Orion spacecraft, the Space Law System 17 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:05,399 Speaker 1: or SLS, rocket, and the ground systems at Kennedy. The 18 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: SLS is the most powerful rocket ever developed, and the 19 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: Orion spacecraft has ventured farther than any vehicle designed for humans. 20 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,960 Speaker 1: Has ever flown, traveling two hundred and eighty thousand miles 21 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 1: that's four hundred and fifty thousand kilometers from Earth to 22 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: a location beyond the far side of the Moon. As 23 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: of this recording, it's on its way home, scheduled to 24 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: return to Earth on Sunday, December eleven. It will have 25 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,280 Speaker 1: been in space for forty two days, longer than any 26 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: human spacecraft that hasn't been docked to a space station. 27 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: After coming within about eighty miles or undred thirty kilometers 28 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: of the Moon's surface and traveling a total of one 29 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 1: point three million miles that's two point one million kilometers, 30 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: Artemis Ones arind spacecraft will have a targeted splash down 31 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: in the Pacific Ocean, somewhere off the coast of San Diego. 32 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 1: One of the main objectives is to test Orion's heat 33 00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: shield when it re enters Earth's atmosphere, but this mission's 34 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: go olds to demonstrate complete operational capabilities during all of 35 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:07,640 Speaker 1: its phases. For the article, this episode is based on 36 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 1: hows to work. Spoke with Craig hard Grove, an associate 37 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:14,279 Speaker 1: professor at Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration. 38 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:18,239 Speaker 1: He was born, making him too young to remember the 39 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:21,360 Speaker 1: last time that astronauts walked on the Moon. He said, 40 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 1: I'm hopeful that this is the start of, you know, 41 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 1: a new future for people in space. Hard Grove has 42 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: another reason to be excited about the mission. He's the 43 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,639 Speaker 1: principal investigator for the Luna h MAP cubes at, one 44 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: of ten different shoebox sized miniature space probes that rode 45 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 1: into space on Artemus one with the intention of being 46 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 1: left in lunar orbit. It's science mission is to measure 47 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: neutrons that are being leaked by the Moon in an 48 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: effort to identify how much water ice is there and 49 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 1: where it's located around the Moon's south pole. The Luna 50 00:02:56,440 --> 00:03:00,160 Speaker 1: h MAP unfortunately encountered some propulsion problems during the trip, 51 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:02,800 Speaker 1: and we've yet to see how its mission will play out. 52 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 1: But mapping those water deposits someday could provide NASA with 53 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,400 Speaker 1: the ingredients to make rocket fuel, enabling a future in 54 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,680 Speaker 1: which spacecraft could be lighter and cheaper because they wouldn't 55 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: have to haul fuel from Earth's surface. The ability to 56 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:19,959 Speaker 1: refuel at a lunar base could also enable NASA to 57 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 1: venture farther and deeper into space than ever before. The 58 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:27,919 Speaker 1: Artemis one mission will perform other scientific research as well. 59 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 1: Instead of human astronauts, the Orion spacecraft contains two mannequin 60 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 1: like devices that are designed to measure potential radiation exposure 61 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:41,760 Speaker 1: to astronauts and particularly female astronauts, during the trip. That 62 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: research is especially crucial because the female bodies have greater 63 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: sensitivity to the effects of space radiation, and nine of 64 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: the eighteen Artemis astronauts are women. The project is meant 65 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: to gather data about which parts of our anatomy are 66 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 1: most at risk from space radiation, and thus to help 67 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: design future systems to protect space travelers. How Stuff Works 68 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:06,160 Speaker 1: also spoke with Matt Siegler, a research scientist at Southern 69 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: Methodist University and the Planetary Science Institute who isn't involved 70 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: in Artemis one, but has participated in research on other 71 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: NASA missions. He explained, like Apollo, before we strop our 72 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 1: best and brightest astronauts to the top of a rocket, 73 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:23,480 Speaker 1: we need to test it. So this launch will carry 74 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 1: no people, but it will carry exact copies of all 75 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:29,040 Speaker 1: the systems we will need when they do go, and 76 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 1: instruments to make sure all is functioning as planned. Siegler 77 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 1: is also excited about scientists having greater access to the Moon, 78 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 1: which he describes as quote a treasure trove of the 79 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,359 Speaker 1: history of the Solar System because things change so slowly. 80 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: There After Artemis one, NASA will proceed ahead to Artemis two, 81 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:52,919 Speaker 1: possibly in the spring of That flight will be crewed 82 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:57,160 Speaker 1: by human astronauts, paving the way for Artemis three at 83 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: the earliest, which will include a piloted land on the 84 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 1: Moon's surface a NASA has announced thirteen potential landing spots 85 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: on the Moon near its south pole, each one containing 86 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 1: multiple landing sites for Artemis three. All thirteen will have 87 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: areas with continuous access to sunlight during the time period 88 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: that NASA plans for astronauts to be on the lunar surface. 89 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:21,120 Speaker 1: The sunlight is critical for long term stays on the 90 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,160 Speaker 1: Moon because it's the source of power for solar cells 91 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 1: and because it keeps temperatures more steady. The Ryan spacecraft's 92 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 1: re entry into the Earth's atmosphere will provide an important 93 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:36,840 Speaker 1: test of Artemis one's safety. It will enter the atmosphere 94 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,159 Speaker 1: to speed of about twenty five thousand miles an hour. 95 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: That's forty kilometers an hour and slow to about one 96 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: percent of that speed as it descends. In the process, 97 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 1: the friction will create temperatures of approximately five thousand degrees 98 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: fahrenheit or two thousand, eight hundred degrees celsius. After deploying 99 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:56,599 Speaker 1: its parachutes, the spacecraft will slow to less than twenty 100 00:05:56,640 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: miles an hour or thirty two kilometers an hour before splashdown. 101 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: And in addition to the aforementioned mannequins, Artemus one has 102 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:09,880 Speaker 1: two additional passengers, stuffed toys of Snoopy wearing an orange 103 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: NASA space flight suit and Sean, the sheep representing the 104 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,360 Speaker 1: European Space Agency in a blue flight suit of his own. 105 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:20,520 Speaker 1: A Snoopy and Sean aren't merely going for a joy ride. 106 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 1: They have a job to do. They're zero gravity indicators. 107 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:26,200 Speaker 1: When they start to float in the cabin, it means 108 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 1: Artemis has reached the weightlessness of micro gravity. The Snoopy, 109 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: of course, is the beagle from Peanuts, created by cartoonist 110 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:38,359 Speaker 1: Charles Schultz in fifty If you're wondering why Snoopy, of 111 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:43,320 Speaker 1: all characters, he has experience. In nineteen sixty nine, the 112 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:47,280 Speaker 1: Apollo ten crew nicknamed their module Snoopy because it's snooped 113 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:49,719 Speaker 1: around the Moon to check out the proposed landing site 114 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:53,640 Speaker 1: for the Apollo eleven mission. The command module was nicknamed 115 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:57,719 Speaker 1: Charlie Brown after the dog's cartoon owner, and a snoopy 116 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:00,839 Speaker 1: toy did previously fly on the clumb be A Space Shuttle. 117 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:06,040 Speaker 1: And this is not the only snoopy space fact. There 118 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:09,279 Speaker 1: are also the fabric hoods that astronauts have long worn 119 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 1: under their helmets. In the Apollo era, they had big 120 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:16,320 Speaker 1: pouches on both sides of the head to hold communications equipment. 121 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:20,040 Speaker 1: These were known as snoopy caps because they've looked like 122 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:25,600 Speaker 1: the beagles black ears. Luckily, for future artemis astronauts, communications 123 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 1: have come a long way in the past half century, 124 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 1: and the much smaller equipment no longer requires a bulky cap. Meanwhile, 125 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: it is Shawn's first time going to space, and the 126 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 1: e s A has extensively documented his training process. Go 127 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:43,240 Speaker 1: ahead and google Shawn the Sheep e s A Blog. 128 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:47,680 Speaker 1: It is so worthwhile. Sean is, of course a protagonist 129 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: of stop motion cartoons created by Nick Park about his 130 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: inclusion in the mission. The e s as Director for 131 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: Human and Robotic Exploration one David Parker said in a 132 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 1: press release, this is an exciting time for Shawn and 133 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:04,480 Speaker 1: for us at E s A. We're wooly very happy 134 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:07,200 Speaker 1: that he's been selected for the mission, and we understand 135 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: that although it may be a small step for a human, 136 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 1: it's a giant leap for lamb kind. Today's episode is 137 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,480 Speaker 1: based on the articles Artemis One is Headed for the 138 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: Moon written by Patrick J. Keiger and Snoopy and Sean 139 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: the Sheep Are Set for the Moon, written by Christen 140 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:29,640 Speaker 1: hall Geisler, both for house toff works dot com. The 141 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: rain Stuff is production of My Heart Radio and partnership 142 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,480 Speaker 1: with howstuff Works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Klang. 143 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 1: For more podcasts for My heart Radio, visit the heart 144 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 145 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 1: favorite shows.