GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Members of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay rocket club were among the millions of people watching history unfold when the Artemis II splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday night.
The four-person crew ventured further into space than any other human had ever been before and became the first humans to see the far side of the moon with the naked eye. The 10-day mission also allowed scientists to gather valuable information that will help guide upcoming trips to the moon.
It’s humanity’s first lunar voyage in over 50 years.
“Honestly, it was a little unexpected because you’re looking at blue for a while and then suddenly they’re in the water,” University of Wisconsin-Green Bay rocket club member Joel Ledvina told Local 5 News on Friday night. “I was just like, thank God they’re back safe and all of that. Just watching the whole thing was amazing.”
Ledvina and other members of the university’s rocket club gathered together Friday night to watch the Artemis II splashdown on a NASA live feed.
“It was cool, honestly. I wouldn’t want to watch with anybody else because we got to talk about all the technical details and all of that,” Ledvina said. “It’s awesome being part of history, not necessarily directly involved, but this is like the first huge space exploration of my generation.”
Artemis II splashes down, astronauts return to Earth
Unsurprisingly, the members of the rocket club have a passion for space travel. Many of them are studying or planning to study aerospace engineering, and several students told Local 5 News that they would love to work for NASA someday.
The rocket club students participate in collegiate rocket launch competitions sponsored by the Wisconsin Space Consortium and NASA. It gives the students opportunities to build and design their own rockets and enter competitions to test their rockets against other clubs.
As they waited for Artemis II splashdown time, the students worked on their rocket for an upcoming competition later this month in Kenosha. They said it takes them several months of preparation to get the rocket ready for a competition.
“This allows you to get hands-on experience, you kind of see what works, what doesn’t, the tools you need to use, and I’ve been using a lot of skills from my classes as well,” Rocket Club President Tyler Krause said.
Krause said he’s been answering a lot of questions from family and friends about the science behind the Artemis II mission. He said his grandma has been particularly interested in talking with him about it.
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The Artemis II mission isn’t just a conversation topic for these students, but also a reminder of why they’re pursuing this type of career. For Krause, it also added extra motivation to pursue his dream of working for NASA someday.
“Kind of turned it from a dream to something where nothing is stopping me,” he said.
