NASA Astronaut Woody Hoburg | All-In Summit 2024

NASA’s Artemis strategy is to build a sustained human presence at the Moon’s south pole, not repeat Apollo-style visits. The plan includes rovers, bases and nuclear power, with the Moon explicitly treated as a proving ground for Mars under NASA’s dedicated Moon to Mars directorate.

SpaceX’s Starship was central to NASA’s first planned Artemis lunar landing, serving as the human landing system from lunar orbit to the surface. NASA required an uncrewed demonstration first; its SpaceX contract covered the Moon, while Elon Musk’s proposed near-term Mars missions remained separate.

A storm damaged a Guam ground station shortly before Woody Hoburg’s spacewalks, creating long periods when he could not talk directly to Mission Control. Frank Rubio and Sultan Al Neyadi created an onboard command post, operated the robotic arm and relayed procedures through the communications gaps.

ISS researchers exploit microgravity because heart tissue ages much faster there, turning orbit into an accelerated model for studying heart disease. Hoburg’s mission also biofabricated a section of human meniscus, illustrating the station’s unusual value for biomedical experimentation.

Polaris Dawn’s planned spacewalk required depressurizing the entire Crew Dragon because it had no airlock, forcing every occupant into a spacesuit. Hoburg had months to acclimate to weightlessness before his first EVA; the Polaris crew would face that experience after only days in orbit.

The Space Shuttle’s retirement left Russian Soyuz as NASA’s only crew transport to the ISS until SpaceX restored a U.S. launch option in May 2020. Hoburg later piloted Crew Dragon Endeavour, the same capsule used by Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on that breakthrough test flight.

Life aboard the ISS is dominated by maintenance and physical countermeasures almost as much as science. Crew members exercise about 2½ hours daily, repair toilets, CO₂ scrubbers and spacesuits, and dispose of trash by loading cargo vehicles that burn up during atmospheric re-entry.