By Brooke Edwards
On Sunday, August 2, space enthusiasts watched and waited for the splashdown of two American NASA astronauts. That morning the two “Space Dads” were awakened by a call from their sons telling them to hurry home. After numerous hours of anticipation, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, along with (Zero G indicator) toy dinosaur Tremor, began their return home from the International Space Station, ending a 64-day stay. Since this was the first time the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carried passengers, its certification to ferry future NASA astronauts would depend on the success of the flight.
Just after 2 p.m., EDT, Crew Dragon Endeavour orbited Earth for the final time before beginning its descent. Everyone anxiously waited as the spacecraft began its dramatic traverse through Earth’s atmosphere, facing the high heat and friction of reentry along with an expected six-minute communication blackout. After nearly five minutes of radio silence, a communication from Behnken and Hurley eased nerves. The capsule, with parachutes deployed, finally came into view as it descended to the sea. CD Endeavour splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico just before 3 p.m., EDT, avoiding tropical storm Isaias. The Space Shuttles and Russian capsules land on solid ground, so this was the first time in more than 45 years that astronauts had splashed down in the ocean.
During their stay on the ISS, the astronauts performed maintenance operations and conducted over 100 experiments, some which may help improve life on Earth, others that study human health in space. This research is in preparation for upcoming Artemis missions to the moon and eventually Mars. NASA is working tirelessly on the SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion Spacecraft which will bring the first woman and next man to the moon in coming years.
On July 30, NASA launched Perseverance, a robotic rover set to arrive on Mars in February. Perseverance will search for signs of past microbial life, as well as study the red planet’s conditions in preparation for future human explorers. The rover will also collect soil samples which will be retrieved by Artemis explorers on future missions.
The next flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon is scheduled for September and will ferry four astronauts – Shannon Walker, Michael S. Hopkins, Victor J. Glover and Soichi Noguchi – to the ISS. Each NASA mission adds to our understanding of life in space and our ability to function there, bringing us closer to the goals of returning to the moon and landing astronauts on Mars. The upcoming years are going to be filled with excitement and new discoveries about our universe.
