Friday April 3, 2026 | OFF-PLANET [6:49 pm PT]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The four Artemis II astronauts had a more varied day today on board Integrity (their name for the Orion space craft) that is taking them to the Moon, around the back side of the Moon, and back to Earth.
There are four Artemis II crew members on board: Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), Christina Koch (mission specialist), and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist).
Again today (same as yesterday) there were several hours of livestream from inside the cabin of the space vehicle, showing the astronauts doing a range of things.
Today’s level of instant long-distance communications including livestream at high-resolution (TV quality and better) is a testament to the advanced work with digital technology, Internet technology and satellite development that has been done in the last several years.
The crew checked various technical aspects of ship function as required and had a mid-day meal. Communications with mission headquarters in Houston were non-stop.
Exercise was done on a small ‘flywheel’ by one or more of the astronauts today. The daily exercise requirement is to help prevent bone and muscle degeneration that results from weightlessness.
Meals on board:
The meals are comprised of a wide range of dehydrated foods, contained in packages that can be opened with scissors and re-hydrated.
The packages can be heated in a small warming device about the size of a picnic hamper.
Foods can be sucked in through straws from the food pouches. Spoons are allowed on the flight but not forks.
The astronauts had input as to their desired food options for entrees, desserts and beverages.
Food specialists at NASA worked to ensure the astronauts would have a nutritionally-balanced diet during the 10-day flight.
Photo-taking:
When the Orion vessel was out of communication for a short period today the astronauts had the opportunity to take photos out the window. As of 4:40 pm PT today, Orion was just about half-way between the Earth and the Moon.
When the crew gets to finally see the dark side of the Moon (that from Earth we can never see) they will be allowed to take their own photos in addition to fulfilling a specific checklist of required shots.
CPR demo:
Just after 5 pm PT (during the blackout period) late this Good Friday afternoon, the team did a pre-planned CPR demo.
Videos will be taken of the demos in real-time, to help with any possible future situations of choking or loss of breathing in this or any future flight.
Distance to go:
This afternoon the Artemis II crew was half way to the moon in their space capsule.
===== RELATED:
- Artemis II: Col Jeremy Hansen says “It was a great burn!” (April 2, 2026)
- Day 2 technology details for Artemis II crew (April 2, 2026)
- Artemis II: troubleshooting some technical things (April 2, 2026)
- Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen heads to the moon (April 1, 2026)
- Artemis Mission Updates (NASA)
- NEWS SECTIONS: AEROSPACE | OFF-PLANET | TECHNOLOGY | NASA