Inside Artemis II astronauts' rigorous training for their historic flight around the moon
Final preparations are underway for NASA's first crewed mission around the moon in more than 50 years, with an early February launch in sight.
The Artemis II spaceflight will send four astronauts – three Americans and one Canadian – on a 10-day journey looping around the moon and back to Earth. The mission will be led by commander Reid Wiseman, with Victor Glover as pilot and Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen as mission specialists.
How does NASA prepare to take astronauts farther from Earth than most humans have ever gone? Trainers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston offered an inside look.
Training for humanity's return to the moon
It's no small task to prepare astronauts for a journey few have traveled. At Johnson Space Center's training facility, most trainers take a trial-by-fire approach.
A team of trainers uses a flight simulator to test how the Artemis II crew responds under pressure. Lisa Voiles, chief training officer, and her team draft countless ways something could go wrong during any phase of the mission.
The scenarios vary, but Voiles told "CBS Mornings" that it could be anything from the smallest sensor failure all the way up to a fire or other emergency. " She observes how the crew responds to each problem while inside the capsule.
Both the Artemis II crew and the mission control team have been undergoing rigorous training for months, troubleshooting issues during dozens of simulations.
Judd Frieling, one of NASA's flight directors who has supported more than 20 shuttle missions, will be sitting in the hot seat to oversee the Artemis II crew's ascent to space.
Frieling said some of the scenarios thrown at the astronauts and flight controllers during training are "very creative" — and absolutely necessary. While you can't prepare for everything, Frieling said the simulations teach crew members and the mission control team how to adapt to any surprises.
"If you don't have a completely nailed down plan, at least you have a straw man of what the plan might be," he explained in an interview with "CBS Mornings."
Artemis II mission specialist Hansen jokes that the tests are "sort of evil." Voiles admitted sometimes the trainers have to be "a little evil," but they have good intentions.
"We'll be sitting in the sim, all our mission controllers are in mission control, and then stuff will just start breaking. You're like, 'Oh, come on. Really, that?" said Hansen.
Sometimes the crew has to juggle several flashing light crises at once.
"We can't predict everything that will happen. I think any scenario that you work through – even if it's not the exact one that you see in space, all that experience and all that development together is going to benefit everyone," she said.
