I just asked Moonflower if she remembered the online name I made for her, and she said "Moonflower." 🌖🌙🌛🌕
I started noticing how if we were riding in a car at night, she would point out the moon and take photos. Same thing for being on the patio at night. So the moon became our thing.
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Victor Glover and Artemis II Crew
🚀Black pilot Victor Glover and the Artemis 11 crew are about to splash down in the Pacific Ocean after traveling around the moon and being the farthest people to travel from Earth (since Apollo)
❌(And get out of here with that "first" Black. He just Black and that's all that matters to me. As if piloting to the moon is a white thing. I really hate the whole "first Black" obsession, it's nonsense unless we're speaking about the presidency and award shows- subjective things where you're voted in. First voted in is not the same as first QUALIFIED!)
🌛Back in more "normal" times, I used to be fascinated with space missions and used to want to see a rocket launch. Things change and so I only became interested in this Artemis 11 mission when I found out that the pilot was a Black man, dad and husband to a Black wife.
So I became extra nervous when I found out how long they would be gone.
And I didn't want to type anything until they made it back in fully safely.
And great going to the rest of the crew as well! I'm so glad it was a safe mission; I respect all the crew! They seem like they had great chemistry.
Because the moon is such a special thing in me and Moonflower's life, I pulled deep within myself, and found some positive reasons to step back into my extreme love for science and focus on the positivity
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Now, all acknowledgement definitely goes to Moonflower's dad who was the one who made me aware of the Artemis 2 launch, details, and ultimately the splashdown.
Moonflower loves the moon, and one day she might be a little more interested in this specific NASA mission. So I wanted to have something for her to look back on from our personal view
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So here is my documentation of the Orion spacecraft as it returns to Earth; I am typing what the man from the control room said. (And it be sounding all scary)
🌖🌙🌛🌕15 and 1/2 Minutes from Splashdown from the Moon
🌕"1 minute to a 6 minute black out"
🌕"Temperatures will rise to 45,000 degrees Fahrenheit during this 6 minute blackout"
Me: (Okay then, damn!!)
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"We should be out of black out period less than a minute from now"
"Small boats are en route to splash down target zone"
"Still waiting to establish voice contact"
"Voice communication reestablished and big cheers from the control room"
Commander Reid Wiseman of the crew said something about Apollo
"We're processing good data through the GPS system" (and I said thank you to Black mathematician Gladys West-Mother of the GPS. And Katherine Johnson and the other Black ladies working as NASA's human computers)
Parachutes dropping now!!
"Perfect descent"
"Time to slpash down, 1 minute"
"694, 481 mile journey complete almost"
Me: This is so f'in insane
"Integrity splash down confirmed 7:07: 47 seconds"
"Artemis astronauts back on Earth"
And we love you and your cousins to the moon and back.
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So I still can't believe that humans are smart enough to do this. It just doesn't make sense that, well I just said it. how can humans be smart enough to do this.
But also, there was some information I wasn't able to type about fast enough during the splashdown, so I asked Deepseek:
during the splash down from the moon, artemis 2, what was the science explanation behind the where u could see the fire coming out the rocket
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The "fire" you see surrounding the Orion spacecraft during its return from the moon is not actually fire in the traditional sense, but a layer of ionized plasma. It is caused by the extreme compression of air as the capsule slams into Earth's atmosphere at hypersonic speeds .
Here is the scientific breakdown of this phenomenon:
1. Extreme Speed and Compression
When returning from the moon, the Artemis II spacecraft travels at incredible speeds—approximately 25,000 mph or nearly 35 times the speed of sound . As it hits the upper atmosphere at an altitude of about 400,000 feet (or 122 km), it doesn't glide through the air; it smashes into air molecules so fast that the air doesn't have time to flow around the vehicle .
2. The Shockwave and Superheating
This collision generates a powerful shockwave. The pressure and friction from this wave instantly compress the gas surrounding the capsule, raising its temperature to extremes. In the case of Orion, the heat shield faces temperatures between 3,000°F and 5,000°F (2,760°C) . This is significantly hotter than the melting point of most metals and roughly the temperature of the sun's surface.
3. The Formation of Plasma
At these extreme temperatures, the atmospheric gases are no longer just "air." The heat strips electrons from the gas molecules, converting them into an ionized gas, which is a physical state called plasma .
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Why it glows: As the electrons recombine with the ions or change energy levels, they release photons (light). The super-heated sheath around the capsule glows bright orange, red, and white.
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The "Fireball" Effect: This layer of plasma completely engulfs the capsule. NASA astronaut Victor Glover described the experience as "riding a fireball through the atmosphere" .
4. The Communication Blackout
This plasma is not just a visual phenomenon; it has a practical effect. Because it is electrically charged (ionized), it reflects radio waves. For approximately six minutes during the descent, the plasma blocks all communications between the capsule and Mission Control, a period known as "entry blackout" .
Why doesn't the capsule burn up?
The capsule survives this extreme heat because of the heat shield on its base. This shield is designed to burn away slowly in a controlled manner (a process called ablation). As the material chars and erodes, it carries the intense heat away from the capsule, keeping the astronauts safe inside .
In summary, the "fire" is a protective shield of superheated, glowing plasma created by the sheer speed of the spacecraft pushing against Earth's atmosphere.
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