Cambridge alumna and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Dr Jenni Gibbons is supporting her fellow astronauts during the historic Artemis II mission – by acting as the critical voice link between the astronauts in space and the teams on the ground at NASA's Mission Control Center.
Jenni is someone who's extraordinarily operationally competent, but also one of the kindest people you will ever meet. It's great to have her backing us up on this mission. I'm excited about all the amazing things that Jenni is going to do in the future for Canada.
CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen
As the first person from an international partner country to be certified as an Artemis capsule communicator (capcom), Dr Gibbons will be on console for several shifts during the 10-day mission – which launched on Wednesday, April 1 – including the first crewed lunar flyby of the Moon in more than 50 years.
Dr Gibbons was assigned as CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen’s backup for the mission in November 2023, and this means that she has undergone the same training as the prime crew.
Jeremy Hansen said: "Jenni is someone who's extraordinarily operationally competent, but also one of the kindest people you will ever meet. It's great to have her backing us up on this mission. I'm excited about all the amazing things that Jenni is going to do in the future for Canada."
Having trained closely with the crew for more than two years means that Dr Gibbons understands the kind of information she needs to communicate with her crewmates from Mission Control.
Dr Gibbons has said that being a capcom also prepares you to be a more effective crewmember, because you have a window into the processes in Mission Control which support spaceflight.
After completing a PhD in Engineering at Jesus College in 2015, Dr Gibbons became a University Lecturer in Internal Combustion Engines, teaching students in the Energy, Fluid Mechanics and Turbomachinery Division. She was an Assistant Professor in Engineering at Cambridge, and is an Honorary Fellow at St Catharine's College.
Dr Gibbons’ role in preparing the Orion spacecraft for launch
Just before the launch on April 1, a closeout crew were responsible for securing the Artemis II astronauts in the Orion spacecraft and closing its hatches. Dr Gibbons was part of the extended closeout team.
About 40 hours prior to the launch and again 16 hours before, her job as an Astronaut Support Person was to prepare the Orion spacecraft, making sure everything was as expected – from the seats to the switches. She also performed voice checks from inside the capsule to make sure communications loops were clear and legible before the crew entered the spacecraft.
Contributing to the foundation of future lunar missions
As part of their training, both Jeremy Hansen and Dr Gibbons also play a key role in defining and validating astronaut training and processes for future lunar missions, putting their expertise in service not only of this flight, but also of the Artemis program as a whole.
Adapted from a Canadian Space Agency article.
