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COY WIRE: Hey, everyone, terrific Tuesday to you.
I'm Coy Wire.
This is "CNN 10."
And we have a rendezvous with the news.
I'm back from Philly, feeling refreshed,
ready to crush this week with you.
We start with a rocket ship returned.
After a 25 and 1/2 day mission around the moon,
NASA's historic Artemis 1 mission
made a successful splashdown on Sunday.
The uncrewed test flight was meant
to pave the way for future missions, which could take
astronauts back to the moon.
The Orion spacecraft pulled off a record-breaking mission,
including two lunar flybys, one within 80 miles of the lunar
surface, more than 1.4 million miles traveled in all
before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean
just West of Baja California.
After landing, the capsule spent six hours in the ocean
with NASA's collecting additional data
and running some tests before the rescue team moved it.
A fleet of recovery vehicles were waiting nearby.
The landing was key to making sure that the Orion spacecraft
is ready to fly real astronauts next time
and then, eventually, to Mars.
- And here we go.
- The lead up to the Artemis 1 launch
might have been a bumpy ride after a series of delays
due to technical glitches and bad weather.
But NASA says, once its megarocket got off the ground,
it's been smooth sailing.
MIKE SARAFIN: We got to witness the world's most powerful
rocket take the Earth by its edges
and shake the wicked out of it.
And it was quite a sight.
- After 3 and 1/2 weeks in space,
filled with engine burns, lunar flybys,
and stunning views of the Earth and the moon, NASA's
Orion spacecraft is home.
But before its splashdown, a critical test.
In one of the most nail-biting times of the re-entry process,
the Orion capsule will separate from its service module,
then complete a skip maneuver off the edge of the Earth's
atmosphere, which will bring it closer to its landing site
and cut down on the G-Forces that future astronauts
will have to endure.
After that, all eyes are on the heat shield
as Orion blazes back to Earth at temperatures
twice as hot as molten lava.
NASA says the heat shield has been
tested more than 1,000 times.
And making sure it can take the heat
is one of the primary goals of this mission.
From the outset, the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission
has been a dry run to make sure the spacecraft is safe enough
for astronauts to fly on board.
BILL NELSON: We are stressing it and testing it
in ways that we will not do to a rocket
that has a human crew on it.
If Artemis 1 is a success, it will be followed by Artemis 2,
which, like the first mission, will fly around the moon,
but this time with a crew.
That will be followed by Artemis 3, which intends to return
astronauts to the moon's surface,
including the first woman and person of color.
Later missions will aim even further, with the goal
of sending astronauts to Mars.
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10-second trivia.
The equator runs directly through which
of these countries?
Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, or Ethiopia?
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All of these countries are close to the equator,
but only Kenya is crossed by it.
COY WIRE: We have introduced you to several of our CNN heroes
this year.
But on Sunday night, Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa
announced the CNN Hero of the.
Year.
ANDERSON COOPER: The 2022 CNN Hero of the Year is--
ANDERSON COOPER AND KELLY RIPA: Nelly Cheboi.
[CHEERING]
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COY WIRE: Congratulations to Nelly Cheboi.
She creates computer labs for schoolchildren
in her native Kenya.
In 2019, Nelly quit her software engineering job to create
her nonprofit Tech-Lit Africa.
Since then, she's provided thousands
of students with upcycled computers and a way
to connect with the world.
Voters online selected Nelly from a list
of CNN's top 10 heroes.
As CNN Hero of the Year, she will receive
$100,000 to expand her work.
Her story is incredible.
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NELLY CHEBOI:
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[SHEEP BLEATING]
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COY WIRE: And for today's 10 out of 10, mother nature
is up to snow good.
Areas in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California
were pummeled with up to 3 to 4 feet of snow over the weekend.
Shnow my goodness.
Combine that with strong winds and even hail.
And look out, don't get in that ski lift.
It's about that time of year, I guess.
Whenever all that snow melts, it'll be thawesome.
If high fives, hugs, and handshakes were snowflakes,
I'd be sending y'all a blizzard.
Thank you for all the love.
We're sending it right back to you.
Shout out to Patrick Henry Middle
School in Woodhaven, Michigan.
We hope you and everyone watching around the world
have a wonderful one.
I'm Coy Wire, this is "CNN 10."
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