RACCOONWORKS

WE WENT TO THE FUCKING MOON!


26.04.2026: *Dusts off the place once more, cleans up desks and tables* ...Hello there, yet again!
Hey! Less than a year since the last blog! Feels like it's been longer...
Anyway, HUMANS WENT TO THE MOON FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER 50 YEARS!! That's, like, THIS FAR:

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Which is SO COOL!! And with a swing past the moon that went further out than any humans have ever been before! The footage and photos that have been made on this trip are absolutely amazing and I'm sure they will release more over time.
A close-up view taken by the Artemis II crew of Vavilov Crater on the rim of the older and larger Hertzsprung basin.
Vavilov Crater in the Hertzsprung basin. Image is © NASA
A 10 day mission, complete success (apart from a toilet that had to be rebooted and Microsoft Outlook failing, twice), better handling of the spacecraft than anticipated, first time a woman as well as a non-US citizen have gone to the moon! The heat shield worked well upon re-entry, the footage of the launch is absolutely breathtaking (there's even an 8min long 8k 120FPS aerial shot of the entire thing (many GB big, there's also lower res versions available though!), just an absolutely awesome feat of science, engineering, craftsmanship and perseverance!
Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon.
Earthset over the moon captured by the Artemis II crew. Image is © NASA
I can't wait for the next missions and the next moon landing. Imagine how much people will be able to research with the amount of technological progress that has happened since the Apollo landings. The longest any Apollo mission has been on the surface was 75h and there was only ever a single scientist on the surface (Harrison Schmitt and he was also a pilot), so imagine what three or four scientists with a few days or longer on the surface, maybe even a permanent lab, could do! I really hope this program gets more funding and other space agencies also start developing lunar capabilities. ESA already made Orion's service module and Ariane 6 can also launch quite a bit of stuff to the moon (not as much as SLS, but still).

I really need to blog more often, especially if I just find stuff or stuff happens that's interesting to me. Hoping to do that not just once every year, so stay tuned and stay curious! :3

UPDATE: Hank Green put together a scrubbable timeline of the mission along with all the photos that have been taken on this mission along with photos of the launch and recovery! Absolutely amazing to browse around. Here's a link to his video that explains how he put it together. Have fun browsing! :D

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