The Artemis II crew have completed their mission to view the dark side of the moon and are now set to re-enter Earth's atmosphere tomorrow (NZT).
Auckland University astrophysicist Richard Easther joined Matt and Tyler to chat about the historical and scientific significance of the mission.
"99% of what they're trying to do here is to test the technology," he said.
"It's essentially a test flight of the vehicles that they want to use to go back to the moon on a regular basis."
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks'd be follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
For Astronauts on NASA's Artemis two mission are on their
way back home after a dramatic lunar flyby that saw
them travel further from Earth than any other humans. Theyre
due for re entry tomorrow, New Zealand. Time to talk
about the mission's significance. We are joined by Richard Easter,
astrophysicist and physics professor at Auckland University. Professor, Good afternoon.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Good afternoon, So how are the artemist? How is the
Artemis mission more advanced than the Apollo missions?
Speaker 4 (00:45):
It's more advanced than the sense that it's obviously using
computers and technologies that are fifty years ahead of where
Apollo was. But on the other hand, you know, it's
using a you know, it looks very similar to the
Apollo capsule, but slightly bigger.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yes, So it's been fascinating to watch, Professor, over the
last ten days. What are we learning? What is NASA
learning from this particular mission and sending those four humans
into deep space?
Speaker 4 (01:13):
Nine percent of what they're trying to do here is
to test the technology. It's essentially a test flight of
the vehicles that they want to use to go back
to the Moon on a regular basis. There's been some
science done, but that's very much the icing on top
of the cake here.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
So they went further away from Earth than any humans
they have ever been before. How does that work out?
Is it just a different path than any of the
Apollos took, or different lineup of the moon?
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Different slightly different lineup of the moon, slightly different paths.
It's not a huge extra distance, and it's partly just
the choice of all bit that they've used to swing
them around the back of the moon they get. One
of the cool things about this vision is or those trippers,
you got to see a photo of, you know, the
back side of the whole moon, and that's not something
that humanized have kind of been able to take in previously.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
The stupidest thing I saw online was someone saying, this
is rubbish. What's lighting up the dark side of the
moon the sun?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
New Oh that is gold. There's good stuff right there?
Speaker 5 (02:13):
So yeah, so yeah, no, that's that.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yes, they thought they've got a real got you there,
so of course it's still got a land so you know,
how dangerous is that part of this set up? How
much more to go?
Speaker 4 (02:29):
I mean, I think that's the that's in some ways
the most dangerous part of all.
Speaker 5 (02:34):
You know, during the take the launch.
Speaker 4 (02:36):
If anything goes wrong with the rocket, the capsule has
this little rocket on top of it that can pull
it free. Whereas everything goes wrong during the re entry,
then there's no way out. And it is very challenging.
They're going to hit that atmosphere faster than any other
spacecraft has done before, and they've got to slow down
from about forty thousand kilometers now to resting in the
(02:59):
ocean space of you know, just just a ten or
twenty minutes, and that heats the spacecraft enormously, and so
the spacecraft has to be protected against that.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
How much is that automated and how much is it
slight adjustion adjustments as they come in.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Once it starts, it's they're pretty much that they are
not so much automated, but it's you know, it hits
the atmosphere like a rock, and you know, they can
steer it as they come in, but once once that
process gets underway, then they're relying on the aerodynamics.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
It's going to be incredible to watch. So you mentioned before,
you know, obviously a big part of this mission is
testing that technology. Is there a good chunk of it
that is also inspiring the public? You know, it's been
a long time since we've had humans in space and
that imagery you talked about and some of the things
that we've heard from the astronauts themselves. Is that a
part of a mission likeness?
Speaker 5 (03:48):
I think it absolutely is. I mean that lends into
this very heavily.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
They talk about the atomist generations, you know, that counterpoint
to the Apollo generation of the nineteen sixties, And I
must admit I've been surprised at the extent to which,
you know, both doing media about this and just talking
to people, that this has gone you know, people's attention
and in a positive way, in a way a lot
of other things in space does not. So I think
from that point of view, I think I think people
(04:12):
are really excited. You know, it seems like this genuine
excite under about it.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yeah, it's great seeing people do something constructive rather than destructive.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
I guess there is that.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
How does atemis two, you know, and the Artemis mission
help us us get us to Mars?
Speaker 4 (04:28):
So, I mean, the Mars is a longer duration flight,
but it's very much learning about partly. You know, one
of the challenges is that they have to rebuild the
technology to land on the Moon and so that that's
still to be tested, and so obviously when you go
to Mars, that's going to be a challenge, to be
a bigger challenge landing on Mars than on the Moon
because Mars has a stronger gravitational field to work against,
(04:50):
But learning how to do that on a regular basis
is definitely a key part of going back to Mars.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
So looking ahead to Artemis three, which is scheduled for
next year, all going well with the re entry, it
seems Professor that you know, the the SLSS, they call
it the capsule, and the original launch went very well
for them, so arguably they'll be looking pretty pleased for
a head of Artemis three project.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
I think ASA has to be breathing a huge sigh
of release on this. The anything that's given them trouble,
it seems to have been the toilet and those are
notoriously misbehaving on spacecraft.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Yes, so is adamis I mean, this is a difficult
question to answer.
Speaker 5 (05:28):
I guess.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
But is it primarily science politics or about becoming a
multiplanetary species.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
I think it's primarily in politics. I think the multiplanetary
species thing, I would take that with a grain of salt.
The ability of people to operate in a self sustaining
way in space is a long way into the future.
If you think about, you know, all of the electronics
in the spacecraft, for instance, I mean, that's very likely
to be built on the US rather than be recreated
in space.
Speaker 5 (05:57):
It is politics, I mean, there's no too.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
I mean the original polymicians were about politics as well,
but it is also you know, it is something that
catches people's imagination and it's it's politics and many things,
but it's it's also undeniably cool.
Speaker 5 (06:14):
I've got like a five year old looking at some
of the footage.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
It filled me full of hope and joy in a
way I haven't been for a long time, and it
quite surprised me how much I have.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
True, that's exactly, That's exactly what I've heard from a
lot of people that they that they had a really
positive response to it, and also that it caught them
slightly by surprise.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I mean, just the live stream elements that, you know,
and I was gripped by that with the NASSA had
the live stream, but when they cast into into the
crew and then how do we interview with them or
how do we laugh? I mean, it's incredible. The fact
that they were, you know, almost on the other side
of the Moon and they were having a live stream
back to Earth that anyone could watch. That is an
incredible moment in time.
Speaker 5 (06:54):
It is.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
And you know, you compare that to the footage from
the poly mission. You know, the live footage that that
was super shaky, it was very marginal just getting that
at all, whereas this looks like you know that that
they're i mean it's literally four K in some cases,
and so they're going to this amazing video from space
and a much more relaxed true you know that the
people are happy showing human emotions that at the moment,
(07:16):
whether you know, the commander identifies a creator that they're
going to name an honor is deceased wife. I mean,
that's not something that you would have picked up watching
the poly missions in the nineteen sixties. You know that
that very kind of straight edge, sort of military aviated perspectives.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
That's a good point and so how far away away
from them putting someone on the moon again.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
So I think the current plan is, it was that
ATAMAS three was going to hopefully land on the Moon,
but the latest iteration, I think is that they will
test the landers in Earth orbit to check that they
could dock and undock, that they can maneuver, and so forth.
So maybe maybe a couple Maybe it looks to be
like a couple of years, So it's at this point
maybe three.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Yeah, And the final question from me, professor, how should
we judge whether Artemis is successful? Obviously a successful entry
is a big part of that, but oh what, you know,
what are your thoughts on the success of this particular mission, of.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
This particular mission, if they know, if they take all
the kpiss that's in the corporate world, I think I
think it's a success. It's very much building towards you know,
it's very much proving that they can in some ways,
they've gone out of their way to make it as
simple as possible. And I think if they you know,
if they land safely tomorrow, I imagine that NASA will
be will be enormously happy with how this has turned out.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Yeah, it's been absolutely incredible to witness. And it's not
the end of the Artemis program, but Professor, it's been
great chatting with you. Thank you so much for your
time this afternoon.
Speaker 5 (08:41):
It's a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
That is Professor Richard Easter. He is an astrophysicist and
physics professor at Auckland University. Fascinating stuff, What.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
A great time to watch to Reentry.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
For more from news talks that'd be listen live on
air or online. And keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks'd be follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
For Astronauts on NASA's Artemis two mission are on their
way back home after a dramatic lunar flyby that saw
them travel further from Earth than any other humans. Theyre
due for re entry tomorrow, New Zealand. Time to talk
about the mission's significance. We are joined by Richard Easter,
astrophysicist and physics professor at Auckland University. Professor, Good afternoon.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Good afternoon, So how are the artemist? How is the
Artemis mission more advanced than the Apollo missions?
Speaker 4 (00:45):
It's more advanced than the sense that it's obviously using
computers and technologies that are fifty years ahead of where
Apollo was. But on the other hand, you know, it's
using a you know, it looks very similar to the
Apollo capsule, but slightly bigger.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yes, So it's been fascinating to watch, Professor, over the
last ten days. What are we learning? What is NASA
learning from this particular mission and sending those four humans
into deep space?
Speaker 4 (01:13):
Nine percent of what they're trying to do here is
to test the technology. It's essentially a test flight of
the vehicles that they want to use to go back
to the Moon on a regular basis. There's been some
science done, but that's very much the icing on top
of the cake here.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
So they went further away from Earth than any humans
they have ever been before. How does that work out?
Is it just a different path than any of the
Apollos took, or different lineup of the moon?
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Different slightly different lineup of the moon, slightly different paths.
It's not a huge extra distance, and it's partly just
the choice of all bit that they've used to swing
them around the back of the moon they get. One
of the cool things about this vision is or those trippers,
you got to see a photo of, you know, the
back side of the whole moon, and that's not something
that humanized have kind of been able to take in previously.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
The stupidest thing I saw online was someone saying, this
is rubbish. What's lighting up the dark side of the
moon the sun?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
New Oh that is gold. There's good stuff right there?
Speaker 5 (02:13):
So yeah, so yeah, no, that's that.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yes, they thought they've got a real got you there,
so of course it's still got a land so you know,
how dangerous is that part of this set up? How
much more to go?
Speaker 4 (02:29):
I mean, I think that's the that's in some ways
the most dangerous part of all.
Speaker 5 (02:34):
You know, during the take the launch.
Speaker 4 (02:36):
If anything goes wrong with the rocket, the capsule has
this little rocket on top of it that can pull
it free. Whereas everything goes wrong during the re entry,
then there's no way out. And it is very challenging.
They're going to hit that atmosphere faster than any other
spacecraft has done before, and they've got to slow down
from about forty thousand kilometers now to resting in the
(02:59):
ocean space of you know, just just a ten or
twenty minutes, and that heats the spacecraft enormously, and so
the spacecraft has to be protected against that.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
How much is that automated and how much is it
slight adjustion adjustments as they come in.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Once it starts, it's they're pretty much that they are
not so much automated, but it's you know, it hits
the atmosphere like a rock, and you know, they can
steer it as they come in, but once once that
process gets underway, then they're relying on the aerodynamics.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
It's going to be incredible to watch. So you mentioned before,
you know, obviously a big part of this mission is
testing that technology. Is there a good chunk of it
that is also inspiring the public? You know, it's been
a long time since we've had humans in space and
that imagery you talked about and some of the things
that we've heard from the astronauts themselves. Is that a
part of a mission likeness?
Speaker 5 (03:48):
I think it absolutely is. I mean that lends into
this very heavily.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
They talk about the atomist generations, you know, that counterpoint
to the Apollo generation of the nineteen sixties, And I
must admit I've been surprised at the extent to which,
you know, both doing media about this and just talking
to people, that this has gone you know, people's attention
and in a positive way, in a way a lot
of other things in space does not. So I think
from that point of view, I think I think people
(04:12):
are really excited. You know, it seems like this genuine
excite under about it.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yeah, it's great seeing people do something constructive rather than destructive.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
I guess there is that.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
How does atemis two, you know, and the Artemis mission
help us us get us to Mars?
Speaker 4 (04:28):
So, I mean, the Mars is a longer duration flight,
but it's very much learning about partly. You know, one
of the challenges is that they have to rebuild the
technology to land on the Moon and so that that's
still to be tested, and so obviously when you go
to Mars, that's going to be a challenge, to be
a bigger challenge landing on Mars than on the Moon
because Mars has a stronger gravitational field to work against,
(04:50):
But learning how to do that on a regular basis
is definitely a key part of going back to Mars.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
So looking ahead to Artemis three, which is scheduled for
next year, all going well with the re entry, it
seems Professor that you know, the the SLSS, they call
it the capsule, and the original launch went very well
for them, so arguably they'll be looking pretty pleased for
a head of Artemis three project.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
I think ASA has to be breathing a huge sigh
of release on this. The anything that's given them trouble,
it seems to have been the toilet and those are
notoriously misbehaving on spacecraft.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Yes, so is adamis I mean, this is a difficult
question to answer.
Speaker 5 (05:28):
I guess.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
But is it primarily science politics or about becoming a
multiplanetary species.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
I think it's primarily in politics. I think the multiplanetary
species thing, I would take that with a grain of salt.
The ability of people to operate in a self sustaining
way in space is a long way into the future.
If you think about, you know, all of the electronics
in the spacecraft, for instance, I mean, that's very likely
to be built on the US rather than be recreated
in space.
Speaker 5 (05:57):
It is politics, I mean, there's no too.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
I mean the original polymicians were about politics as well,
but it is also you know, it is something that
catches people's imagination and it's it's politics and many things,
but it's it's also undeniably cool.
Speaker 5 (06:14):
I've got like a five year old looking at some
of the footage.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
It filled me full of hope and joy in a
way I haven't been for a long time, and it
quite surprised me how much I have.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
True, that's exactly, That's exactly what I've heard from a
lot of people that they that they had a really
positive response to it, and also that it caught them
slightly by surprise.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I mean, just the live stream elements that, you know,
and I was gripped by that with the NASSA had
the live stream, but when they cast into into the
crew and then how do we interview with them or
how do we laugh? I mean, it's incredible. The fact
that they were, you know, almost on the other side
of the Moon and they were having a live stream
back to Earth that anyone could watch. That is an
incredible moment in time.
Speaker 5 (06:54):
It is.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
And you know, you compare that to the footage from
the poly mission. You know, the live footage that that
was super shaky, it was very marginal just getting that
at all, whereas this looks like you know that that
they're i mean it's literally four K in some cases,
and so they're going to this amazing video from space
and a much more relaxed true you know that the
people are happy showing human emotions that at the moment,
(07:16):
whether you know, the commander identifies a creator that they're
going to name an honor is deceased wife. I mean,
that's not something that you would have picked up watching
the poly missions in the nineteen sixties. You know that
that very kind of straight edge, sort of military aviated perspectives.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
That's a good point and so how far away away
from them putting someone on the moon again.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
So I think the current plan is, it was that
ATAMAS three was going to hopefully land on the Moon,
but the latest iteration, I think is that they will
test the landers in Earth orbit to check that they
could dock and undock, that they can maneuver, and so forth.
So maybe maybe a couple Maybe it looks to be
like a couple of years, So it's at this point
maybe three.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Yeah, And the final question from me, professor, how should
we judge whether Artemis is successful? Obviously a successful entry
is a big part of that, but oh what, you know,
what are your thoughts on the success of this particular mission, of.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
This particular mission, if they know, if they take all
the kpiss that's in the corporate world, I think I
think it's a success. It's very much building towards you know,
it's very much proving that they can in some ways,
they've gone out of their way to make it as
simple as possible. And I think if they you know,
if they land safely tomorrow, I imagine that NASA will
be will be enormously happy with how this has turned out.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Yeah, it's been absolutely incredible to witness. And it's not
the end of the Artemis program, but Professor, it's been
great chatting with you. Thank you so much for your
time this afternoon.
Speaker 5 (08:41):
It's a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
That is Professor Richard Easter. He is an astrophysicist and
physics professor at Auckland University. Fascinating stuff, What.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
A great time to watch to Reentry.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
For more from news talks that'd be listen live on
air or online. And keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio.
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