2026年4月8日 / 美国东部时间下午2:47 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
作者：威廉·哈伍德
在历史性绕月飞行后高速返航地球，阿尔忒弥斯二号宇航员周三度过了相对轻松的太空一日，在为周五的再入大气层和溅落做准备前完成了几项最终测试。
阿尔忒弥斯二号指挥官里德·怀斯曼、维克多·格洛弗、克里斯蒂娜·科赫以及加拿大宇航员杰里米·汉森计划于周三晚间举行新闻发布会，回答记者关于此次飞行的提问——这是半个多世纪以来首次载人绕月飞行。
随后，机组人员计划再次手动驾驶猎户座飞船，测试他们精准操控航天器的能力。
阿尔忒弥斯二号宇航员周二在猎户座飞船舱内拍摄了合影。从左至右依次为：克里斯蒂娜·科赫、加拿大宇航员杰里米·汉森、维克多·格洛弗和指挥官里德·怀斯曼。 美国国家航空航天局
此前四名宇航员参与的测试已证明，当未来在月球轨道与登月舱对接时若自动操作系统出现故障，机组能够精准响应手动操控指令。
与此同时，飞行控制人员梳理了再入大气层的时间表，海军回收部队已前往加利福尼亚州南部圣迭戈附近的溅落海域。猎户座飞船预计将于美国东部时间周日晚上8点07分在此处溅落。
在休斯顿的约翰逊航天中心，科学家们仍在仔细研究宇航员周一飞越月球背面时拍摄的数千张照片，以及他们对各类高优先级观测目标拍摄的视频和录制的音频解说。
1968年至1972年间，共有9组三人阿波罗机组飞越月球背面，但当时的发射时机都是月球正面完全被阳光照亮、背面处于阴影之中。
阿尔忒弥斯二号宇航员是首批亲眼在日光下观测月球背面大片区域的人类，这为研究人员提供了深入了解月球演化的宝贵数据。
周一晚间，阿尔忒弥斯二号猎户座飞船飞临此前从未被近距离观测的月球背面时拍摄的月球画面。美国国家航空航天局/经哥伦比亚广播公司编辑以增强细节
截至目前，NASA自1972年最后一次阿波罗登月任务以来的首次载人月球任务进展顺利，仅出现少量异常状况。其中一个问题涉及飞船马桶，其按要求向外排放液态废物的功能出现故障。
尽管这偶尔会给机组带来不便，但考虑到往返月球飞行面临的诸多技术挑战，这只是一个相对次要的问题。
Artemis II astronauts head for home, wrapping up final tests and experiments
April 8, 2026 / 2:47 PM EDT / CBS News
By William Harwood
Hurtling back toward Earth after a historic loop around the moon, the Artemis II astronauts worked through a relatively light day in space Wednesday, wrapping up a few final tests before packing up for re-entry and splashdown Friday.
Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen planned to hold a news conference late Wednesday, answering reporters’ questions about the flight, the first piloted trip around the moon in more than a half century.
The crew then plans to take another turn at manually piloting their Orion capsule, testing their ability to precisely maneuver the spacecraft.
The Artemis II astronauts posed for a group photo Tuesday, floating in the cabin of their Orion spacecraft. Left to right: Christina Koch, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover and commander Reid Wiseman. NASA
Earlier tests with all four astronauts demonstrated the precise response to pilot inputs that could be needed during future dockings with lunar landers in the moon’s orbit if problems prevent automatic operations.
Flight controllers, meanwhile, reviewed the re-entry timeline and Navy recovery crews headed to the splashdown site off the Southern California coast near San Diego where the Orion capsule is expected to splash down at 8:07 p.m. ET Sunday.
Back at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, scientists continued poring over thousands of photographs captured by the astronauts as they passed over the far side of the moon Monday, along with video and recorded audio descriptions of various high-priority targets.
Nine three-man Apollo crews flew over the moon’s far side between 1968 and 1972, but those flights were launched when the near side was fully illuminated and the far side was in shadow.
The Artemis II astronauts were the first humans to see, with their own eyes, large swaths of the far side in daylight, giving researchers insights that could lead to a better understanding of the moon’s evolution.
A view of the moon from the Artemis II Orion capsule as it closed in for a loop around the normally unseen lunar far side Monday evening. NASA/edited CBS News to bring out detail
So far, NASA’s first piloted moon mission since the final Apollo landingin 1972 has gone off like clockwork with only a small number of anomalies. One of those involved the ship’s toilet, which has had problems dumping liquid waste overboard as required.
While an annoyance at times for the crew, it’s been a relatively minor issue given the technical challenges of safely flying to the moon and back.
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