Artemis II is 'inspiring' a whole generation

Susan Charlesworth has a rather rare and unique job that involves preparing people for something very few humans have ever experienced - travelling into space.

The Oxfordshire-based psychologist trains astronauts and says Nasa's ongoing Artemis II mission has been "inspiring" for a whole generation back on Earth.

No humans have ever been further from home than the four Artemis crew members were on Monday, as they conducted a dramatic lunar fly-by.

With the quartet now on the journey back home, Charlesworth - who previously worked for the European Space Agency - says the voyage has been "incredible" to follow.

Artemis crew Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen spent more than two years training for the groundbreaking trip - which is a test flight ahead of more ambitious goals, including landing humans on the Moon for the first time since 1972.

Charlesworth said the team would have spent that time getting themselves "prepared for the unprepared", as they broke new-ground in human space travel.

The astronauts will have undergone "ICE" training, as they are placed in isolated, confined and extreme environments to prepare them for space, she explained.

This would often include going into harsh, confined and sparse habitats across the globe - including in Sardinian caves, the planes of Antartica or even in the sea near Florida.

"The training I do is all to do with the human behaviour and performance and human factors - so it's preparing them for exactly this situation," she added.

"They have to live and work together for days on end and have communication delays - which the Artemis crew has experienced when they were on the dark side of the Moon, so they are very well prepared."

The shuttle completely lost sight of Earth whilst travelling behind the Moon, leaving it isolated from all external communications for 40 minutes.

During their journey, the crew have captured images of sights that no human has experienced for more than 50 years, alongside some that had never been seen before.

One of the most spectacular scenes is a photo Nasa has called Earthset, which shows the Earth slowly setting behind the Moon's horizon - a mirror image of the famous Earthrise photo taken during the Apollo 8 mission.

"We have not been this far from Earth before, we've not had the technology and the cameras to take these incredible images," Charlesworth said.

"There is just so much going on every day and trying to keep up with everything and the amazing photos coming back has been very exciting."

Thursday marks the Artemis II's last full day in space, with the crew preparing for their return to Earth in the early hours of Saturday morning after ten days in space.

The trailblazing mission's homecoming comes more than a half a century after the world watched on as Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to ever set foot on the moon's surface.

That mission, and the ensuing lunar voyages, led to what experts at the time called the "Apollo generation" - a whole age group of children who set their sights on the stars.

Charlesworth suggested that watching the Artemis II could have a similar effect for the kids of today.

"It's really, really exciting for a lot of people and certainly the younger generation," she said.

"I think it's really inspiring for this generation, and for adults as well, to see this happening in real time."

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