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Reflecting on a record-setting spaceflight
… An update on prelaunch activities

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for Artemis
I … And launching the first private

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astronaut mission
to the International Space Station

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… a few of the stories
to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

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NASA astronaut Mark Vande
Hei is safely back on Earth

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following his record-setting 355-day
mission aboard the International Space

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Station – the longest single spaceflight
in history by an American astronaut.

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Our Johnson Space Center
hosted a virtual news conference

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on April 5, during
which Vande Hei reflected on his mission.

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It was not about any record for me at all.

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"It was not about any record for me
at all.

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It (was) just the opportunity
to work with a really good sense

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of purpose in a job
where we get to help out all of humanity.

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The number of days was not that important
to me, and I think that helped me react

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to whether it was going to –
to be comfortable with it being either

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a shorter mission or a longer mission,
like it turned out to be.”

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Data from Vande Hei’s
mission will help us prepare

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for the effects of long-duration
spaceflight on the human body,

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as we continue our plans
to return astronauts to the Moon

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under the Artemis program, in preparation
for eventual human missions to Mars.

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As of April 5, teams at our Kennedy
Space Center

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were preparing for the next attempt
at the Artemis I wet dress rehearsal test

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with our Space Launch System
rocket and Orion spacecraft, pending range

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availability and restoration
of propellants and gases during the test.

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Engineers did accomplish several test
objectives during two previous test runs

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that will help prepare teams
and the integrated systems for launch.

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This wet dress rehearsal marks

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the first use of new systems at Kennedy’s
Launch Complex 39B

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and is the last major test
before the uncrewed Artemis I launch.

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On April
8, the crew of Axiom Mission 1 or Ax-1,

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the first\hprivate astronaut mission\hto
the International Space Station,

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lifted off aboard a SpaceX Dragon
spacecraft from our Kennedy Space Center.

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During the 10-day mission, the Ax-1 crew
will spend eight days on the space

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station, conducting scientific research,
outreach, and commercial activities.

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The mission represents both a culmination
of NASA’s efforts to foster

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a commercial market in low-Earth orbit
and a beginning of a new era of space

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exploration that enables more people
to fly on more kinds of missions.

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[Sound of rocket firing]

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Northrop
Grumman and Lockheed Martin engineers

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recently conducted a final hot-fire test
in Promontory, Utah of the abort

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motor built for the launch
abort system on NASA’s Orion spacecraft,

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qualifying the system for missions
with crew beginning with Artemis II.

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In the event of an emergency
on the launch pad or during ascent,

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the launch abort system
is designed to safely lift Orion

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and its crew away from the launch vehicle.

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NASA was well represented at the Space
Foundation’s

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37th Space Symposium,
April 5-7 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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Our Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy

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gave a speech
highlighting our Moon to Mars strategy.

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There was also a panel discussion
about our Artemis program

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working with industry partners
to help build the space economy.

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Meanwhile, the team for our OSIRIS-REx
asteroid sample return

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mission received the 2022 John L.

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"Jack" Swigert, Jr., Award
for Space Exploration in recognition

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of the mission's extraordinary
accomplishments in space exploration,

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and discoveries made at asteroid Bennu.

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That’s what’s up this week
@NASA … For more on these and other