Listen to this audio excerpt from Jen Madsen and Trey Perryman, leads of the Orion Mission Evaluation Room for the Artemis II mission:

During NASA’s Artemis II mission, Jen Madsen and Trey Perryman will be leading a team monitoring the Orion spacecraft as it carries four astronauts around the Moon. The team works in the Orion Mission Evaluation Room where they will monitor and analyze Orion’s systems and performance in real time to help ensure crew safety and mission success.

As the leaders of the Orion Mission Evaluation Room located inside the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Madsen and Perryman are responsible for ensuring that the dozens of NASA, Lockheed Martin, ESA (European Space Agency), and Airbus expert engineers that staff the room’s consoles are ready for Artemis II.

The flight control team operating Orion from mission control’s White Flight Control Room will rely on the Mission Evaluation Room’s crucial findings to help with unexpected spacecraft behaviors that may arise and help analyze Orion’s performance data during the mission.

With crew aboard Orion, Artemis II brings new challenges, new opportunities, and a new space in mission control for the Orion Mission Evaluation Room. More spacecraft systems will be put to the test, requiring more evaluation room expertise and new consoles to monitor systems not previously flown, like life support.

“There’s loads of excitement — for the new capabilities, the mission, and having a new, wonderful space to operate in,” said Perryman.

Besides leading the Mission Evaluation Room, Perryman is also the lead for Orion Mission and Systems Integration, and Madsen is deputy manager for Orion’s Avionics, Power, and Software. Their co-leadership styles complement each other — Perryman leads with energy and team spirit, while Madsen brings a steadiness and structure.

“We balance each other out,” Madsen said. “And that balance is reflected in our team.”

For Perryman, a former flight controller with a background in space shuttle and space station operations, the MER represents the culmination of a career in human spaceflight that’s personal.

“I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else right now,” Perryman said. “My wife and I have four boys, and my boys are very excited about Artemis…that’s meaningful to me. And they like seeing a father who’s really connected to this mission.”

Madsen began her NASA career in engineering, designing and simulating Orion’s guidance, navigation, and control systems early on in the program.

For both leaders, the Artemis II mission is more than technical. With crew flying aboard the spacecraft, it’s deeply human.

“I do feel an extra sense of importance and mindfulness about what we’re doing in this building,” Perryman said,  “making sure — specifically in the Orion MER — that we understand how the vehicle supports the crew, because it is so important to return them home safely.”

“We all feel like Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy are part of the Orion family,” Madsen said. “When we have discussions about risk, from design all the way through operations, we’re thinking about our friends aboard the spacecraft.”