Colorado professor who worked on Artemis I watches Artemis II launch with her students

Four astronauts lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on the first lunar voyage in more than 50 years, a 10-day Artemis II mission sending three Americans and one Canadian around the moon before an ocean splashdown. At MSU Denver, assistant professor Dr. Lena Heffern watched with students, noting her prior role calibrating an Artemis I secondary payload and dissertation work on NASA’s LunaMap. She called Artemis II a milestone toward future landings, especially Artemis IV, recalled the 2022 launch’s excited atmosphere, and plans to bring cross-sector experience to teaching this fall.