- Mission Artemis II crew to return to Earth on April 10 after 10-day lunar mission
- Astronauts watched Project Hail Mary film during quarantine to boost morale
- Jeremy Hansen is first non-American astronaut to fly around the Moon
Led by Mission Commander Reid Wiseman, the Artemis II crew, featuring NASA's Victor Glover and Christina Koch, alongside Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, is scheduled to return to Earth on Friday (Apr 10) after a 10-day mission around the Moon. To bolster their spirits prior to their April 1 liftoff, the four astronauts were treated to a special viewing of Amazon MGM Studios' film "Project Hail Mary", directed by Chris Miller and Phil Lord and based on Andy Weir's 2021 novel.
Featuring Ryan Gosling, the space drama's themes of friendship, sacrifice, and hope served as a fitting and inspirational message to the crew's own lunar adventure. Hansen, who became the first non-American citizen to fly to the Moon, said he was delighted to receive best wishes from Gosling, a fellow Canadian.
Since its March 20 debut, "Project Hail Mary" has been a box office hit, grossing a worldwide total of more than $433 million. The crew watched the movie during the quarantine period at the Kennedy Space Center in Houston.
"We were all really lucky," Hansen shared during a live interview earlier this week. "We got to watch 'Hail Mary' when we were in quarantine. That was a real treat that they sent us a link to view that at home with our families, getting us ready to go on our own space adventure."
"Art imitates science and vice versa. I thought it was just such an inspirational example, somebody who goes out there and just gets what was done to save humanity. It's a pretty extraordinary example that we can all follow," said Hansen.
Artemis II Splashdown
After a historic lunar fly-by, the four astronauts will be returning to Earth on Friday, with the splashdown expected at approximately 8:07 pm EDT (5:37 am IST, April 11) off the coast of California, a similar location to where the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission landed in December 2022.
The Orion capsule will endure temperatures of up to 2,760 degrees Celsius while re-entering Earth's atmosphere at speeds of up to 38,600 kph, during a rough 13-minute descent. A heat shield will protect the crew as parachutes deploy to slow the capsule before it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean. The astronauts will then be recovered by the USS John Murtha and escorted back to shore.
