They’ll be itching for a giant leap when this is done.
Life onboard Artemis II’s moon-bound spaceship will be a cramped and possibly smelly affair. And it’s not a huge improvement from the last time mankind journeyed into deep space more than 50 years ago.
Artemis II’s Orion capsule only has about 330 cubic feet of habitable space, which is about 50% larger than the 210 cubic-foot command modules which flew throughout Apollo.
But the Artemis missions will fly four crewmembers to the moon compared to Apollo’s three, cutting down on the spatial gains of the new Orion capsule.
And while the Orion capsule has a bit more per astronaut, the four fliers will still be spending nearly two weeks floating about a space no larger than the interior of two minivans.
The Artemis crew will go about their daily routines over the course of 10 days in their tight quarters — eating, bathing, sleeping, exercising and going to the bathroom, along with conducting scientific experiments and keeping the craft in clean and working order.
On Apollo, the tight space led to capsules reeking like locker room bathrooms once the crew was finally unsealed.
Some hilarious communication transcripts from the Apollo detailed how the astronauts — among the finest minds the US had to offer — had to chase down floating feces in zero gravity.
But Artemis has a leg up in the cleanliness department. The Orion capsule is equipped with a separate bathroom rigged with not only a suction powered toilet but also its own door to allow crewmembers privacy while they answer nature’s call in space.
The bathroom door will also be a thankful amenity, as Artemis will be the first deep space mission with a woman onboard.
On Apollo, the astronauts had to strip naked and attach an adhesive bag to their bottoms when they needed to go #2.
Artemis’ crew will also bathe in the bathroom quarters, where they’ll be able to use wipes and dry shampoo to keep themselves clean. Apollo had similar cleaning capacities, but did notably little to rein in the stench of days in space.
And as on Apollo, the Artemis crews will strap themselves into hammocks that double as sleeping bags when they bed down each night.
Eating during Artemis will also be similar to Apollo, with dehydrated food being rehydrated using onboard water.
The Artemis menu will include macaroni and cheese, beef brisket and broccoli au gratin, along with a number of dry snacks like nuts and tortillas with spreads.
Operating the Orion capsule will be a much simpler affair than Apollo, which depended on about 2,000 manual switches, knobs, dials, and gauges that communicated with a massive computer to run the ship.
Orion will instead have a control panel operated almost entirely by software and a series of back-up computers
Downtime on the way to the moon will also be notably less analogue this time around.
The Apollo astronauts brought along a cassette player and tapes — including recordings made just for space by the likes of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard.
But the Artemis crews will have access to tablets pre-loaded with whatever TV shows they want to binge when they get the chance.
But, as on Apollo over 50 years ago, today’s moon crews are likely to spend whatever downtime they get hurling food and drink into each other’s mouth from across their capsule.
