It has been more than 50 years since the final Apollo mission landed on the moon. Now a new crew of astronauts has made the journey into space again.

On April 10, four astronauts splashed down off the coast of San Diego, Calif., after completing a 10 day lunar flyby test flight. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, successfully orbited the Moon and returned safely to Earth. Traveling 252,756 miles from Earth, the trip broke the record for the farthest human spaceflight. The record was originally set by the Apollo 13 astronauts in 1970.

Artemis II is the second mission part of NASA’s Artemis program. Through the use of the Orion spacecraft, the program aims to send astronauts back to the moon by 2028 and establish a sustainable human presence on and around the moon. These missions will also pave the way for future human exploration on Mars.

“I think one of their most significant findings was that the systems of the Orion Capsule all worked as planned, especially their life-support system,” said Hailey Ruddock, president of the university’s astronomy club. “These astronauts were the first humans to be able to observe the dark side of the moon with the naked eye, allowing us to better understand the lunar surface. These findings are very important for future space exploration, as validation of the Orion capsule paves the way for the future Artemis missions, especially their planned lunar landing of Artemis IV in 2028.”

From their test flight, the Artemis II crew captured plenty of new images. These photos included one of an in-space solar eclipse and one that captured the terrain of the Moon in detail. Another image known as “Earthset” captured a view of Earth as the crew flew around the moon.

“I found the photos to be breathtaking, especially the photos of the dark side of the Earth as Orion was heading towards the moon,” said Freddie Hay, executive assistant of the astronomy club. “It makes me so proud of science and thrills me that this mission was successful, and we’ll be able to see a future in space travel and even having people live on the moon in the coming years.”

During their flyby, the crew was able to see two new craters on the Moon. They decided to name one of them Integrity, the same name chosen for their spacecraft, and the other Carroll, in dedication to Wiseman’s late wife.

The history the mission made came not just from its discoveries. Artemis II’s crew featured the first woman, person of color and non-American to fly to the moon, a milestone not achieved by the Apollo program.

While the mission made history in space, it connected with university students back on Earth.

“To be honest, it made me really emotional,” said Hay. “It feels great to live in an era where space travel is yet again furthering the world of science.”

With its vast live coverage, the crew’s splashdown gathered more than 27 million viewers across news outlets.

“It was thrilling to watch the mission live, especially watching lift off,” said Ruddock “The documentation of this mission was amazing, with a constant livestream and with NASA’s website allowing you to even watch a 3D model of the Orion spacecraft with live location updates along with its speed and distance from Earth. I’m very happy this mission went viral, with it hopefully sparking a newfound interest in Astronomy for people of all ages.”

The ability to witness the mission and the crew’s findings in real time provides a transformative learning experience for those interested in the field of space and astronomy.

“Being able to live through a historic event such as the Artemis II mission could make the people’s aspirations for astronomy more real and concrete opposed to reading information of previous missions in textbooks,” said Gianna Greco, the vice president of the astronomy club.

With eventual plans to bring humans to Mars, this new era of space exploration has sparked conversations on future opportunities for students.

“NASA actually chose eight universities to help with the Artemis II mission,” said Ruddock. “Students from various colleges aided in tracking the spacecraft’s radio signals and students from American University provided a radio system to collect mission data that was used in the mission.”

“If you are interested in pursuing a career in space exploration, whether that’s as an astronaut or putting in more work on ground or behind the scenes, NASA is always accepting internships, especially with the series of Artemis missions in the near future.”

For the astronomy club, Ruddock hopes that the future Artemis missions can allow for watch parties to happen on campus.

“Having a watch party for launch and/or splashdown would be a fun event to hold in the future, hopefully it will bring out a new interest in Astronomy for many students,” said Ruddock.