Designing a Home for Artemis II - Episode 68
From Behind the Wings by Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum™
January 19, 2026 · 38 min · Season 7
About this episode
Cynthia Hudy discusses the design of the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission, focusing on human factors engineering and astronaut experience.
Human Factors Engineer Cynthia Hudy shares what it takes to design a spacecraft around the people who fly it. We explore Cynthia’s role designing the systems inside Orion, from displays and controls to life support, radiation protection, and the everyday realities of living in deep space. We also discuss how astronaut feedback and human-in-the-loop testing are shaping Artemis II, the first crewed Orion mission to carry humans beyond low-Earth orbit since Apollo 17. From engineering for diverse crews to preparing humans for deep-space autonomy, this one is going to be cool! What You'll Hear Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 This 10-day flight around the Moon is the critical proving mission before astronauts return to the lunar surface. Orion is designed like a “tiny house” in deep space Every system inside the capsule is engineered so four astronauts can live, work, sleep, eat, exercise, and respond to emergencies in an extremely confined space. Human factors engineering shapes nearly every design decision Orion is built around human physical and mental limits, treating the crew as an essential part of the spacecraft system—not an…
People in this episode
Guest: Cynthia Hudy
Topics covered
- human factors engineering
- spacecraft design
- Artemis II mission
- crew experience
- deep space living
Keywords
- Artemis II
- Orion
- human factors
- deep space
- spacecraft design
- Apollo 17
- crew systems
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: NASA
Products: Orion
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