The Artemis II crewed mission to the Moon launched successfully last night. However, the ultra-complex spacecraft, which was supposed to showcase NASA’s precision and technological excellence, unexpectedly became the butt of jokes across the internet. While the Orion spacecraft is steadily gaining speed in Earth orbit before heading toward the Moon, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen has become the unwitting protagonist of a curious incident that proves: even in space, human nature trumps protocol.
During the broadcast from inside the spacecraft’s cockpit, Hansen performed system diagnostics, which were watched by millions of viewers live. While unlocking his computer with a stylus, the astronaut accidentally revealed his login password (PIN): “3939.”
Reddit goes on the hunt
While the engineers at the Mission Control Center in Houston might have overlooked this minor detail, Reddit’s “collective intelligence” acted instantly. The mission discussion thread was flooded with posts just seconds after the video was posted. Observant users identified the code as the password to unlock one of the auxiliary control systems of the onboard computer.
A video clip featuring a “secret code” went viral at lightning speed. Users began competing to come up with the wittiest guesses, suggesting it was the password for the onboard Wi-Fi or, worse yet, the activation code for the coffee machine.
“At least it’s not 12345,” wrote one commenter, referencing a classic scene from the comedy Spaceballs. “We’ve finally learned that the security of a $30 billion mission depends on a code that’s easier to guess than my grandmother’s birthday.”
Is the mission in danger?
Despite the wave of skepticism, cybersecurity experts are reassuring the public: it is highly unlikely that attackers could take control of the spacecraft with only four digits. The core Orion systems are protected by much stronger encryption, and “3939” is likely just a local code used to access the data display interface.
Nevertheless, this incident served as a good reminder that in the age of high-quality 4K broadcasts, every little detail matters. NASA has not yet officially commented on the incident. In any case, “3939” has already become the mission’s unofficial symbol, proving that even the path to the stars is not immune to ordinary human errors. Next time, maybe we should try at least “3940”?
We previously reported on how the survival of the Artemis astronauts depends on the lunar elevator functioning properly.
