It’s been two months since the Artemis II Orion capsule successfully landed on the West Coast, yet Edison students continue to reflect on the mission today.
Artemis II is the first NASA crewed mission where astronauts ventured around the moon. The mission started the foundation for future deep space exploration and infrastructure. The crew of four astronauts quickly became the adoration of young people interested in STEM, forming an inspiration that is especially personal to Edison.
“When I first heard about Artemis I was so shocked that they were doing such an incredible mission. When it landed I’m pretty sure I was sleeping at the time, but when I woke up and heard about it on the news I was so excited because now we’re in a new era of space exploration,” Kassandra Doñe, a senior member of The Edison Space Club, said.
Artemis II flew past the far side of the Moon in daylight to photograph geological features. According to NASA, the furthest point they reached was 252,760 miles from Earth.
The crew members included NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The crew made history by including the first woman, first Black astronaut, and first Canadian to ever travel beyond low Earth Orbit.
Engineering related shop students resonated with the Artemis II crew, finding inspiration from astronauts and other NASA engineers that are similar to them.
“In our collision refinishing Shop Class that can have a direct translation to other fields such as aviation which could also further lead into space. Some of these skills include sanding, welding, estimating painting, which are all skills that can be transferred over into any trade that requires them,” Samuel Solomon Khanimov, a senior at Edison, said.
Most Afia Farzana, a senior in the Robotics shop class, spoke further about the importance of representation and inclusion in the field of engineering.
“Growing up, I barely heard of women, especially South Asian women and Hijabis in engineering. With Artemis II, it has been a wonderful opportunity for women to be represented. Being in engineering helped me also be part of this experience, I get to show other girls that they are represented and not alone,” Farzana said.
Farzana continued to highlight the growth of the Robotics team this year. The team built a robot to compete in their first ever FRSE city competition, which won 15th place. She believes that STEM programs in K-12 education are important, especially in order to encourage more female students to learn and try new things.
“Once you get into that hands-on component, engineering really inspires you,” Farzana said.
Check out the official broadcast of the Artemis II crew on NASA’s YouTube channel here.
