[WATCH] Lockheed Martin Showed Off Amazon Alexa-Powered 'Party Mode' Inside the Orion Spacecraft

It's party time inside the Orion capsule as Lockheed Martin, which built the spacecraft for the Artemis I mission, showed off an Amazon Alexa-enabled "Party Mode" inside the spacecraft in a video posted on Twitter.

The Artemis I Moon mission was launched last month with the goal of testing the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, as well as gathering information for the next crewed Artemis II mission in 2024. The mission may sound serious but the recent demonstration shows that Orion can also have a little fun while orbiting the Moon.

'Party Mode' Inside the Orion Spacecraft

Lockheed Martin's video shows an Earth-based scientist saying "Alexa, party mode" through a small speaker onboard the moon-traveling capsule, which prompted the Amazon voice assistant to engage a celebration lighting of flashing RGB lights, Futurism reports.

The video also shows on the video Commander Moonikin Campos, the human-sized doll onboard the spacecraft that will measure the possible cosmic radiation that astronauts could experience as they travel to the Moon.

The party mode feature is part of the Callisto technology demonstration of the Orion spacecraft, which includes the Alexa voice assistant. future astronauts could use voice commands to add a Star Trek ambiance to their spaceflight. This means that "party mode" is just a quick request away should they need to celebrate a milestone in spaceflight, like arriving on the Moon.

Callisto is a payload onboard the uncrewed Orion spacecraft that was outfitted with an Alexa speaker and an iPad with video conferencing software that was developed by Cisco Systems.

As Futurism reported, the system is a new way for astronauts to stay in touch with the ground crew on Earth while they are on their journey to the Moon and back to Earth, which takes weeks. More so, it could serve as entertainment for astronauts so they do not get bored with the Orion while zipping through outer space for weeks. The changing RGB lights are intended to brighten the mood.

Rob Chambers, Lockheed Martin VP, told Bloomberg that: "If you're not controlling the lights with your Alexa, you're really not even hitting the minimum bar for success."

Where Is Orion Spacecraft Now?

Artemis I is the first flight of the Artemis program that tests the SLS rocket and Orion capsule. NASA announced on November 28, on Orion's 12th day of spacelight, that the spacecraft is almost 270,000 miles (435,000 kilometers) away from Earth.

That means the Orion spacecraft has already surpassed the previous farthest distance from Earth by a human-made spacecraft as it orbits around the Moon. On November 26, the uncrewed spacecraft flew past the record-setting distance of the Apollo 13 crewed command module after traveling 248,655 miles (400,171 km) from Earth.

NASA provides an opportunity through its website for those who want to stay updated with the location of the Orion spacecraft as it finishes the Artemis I mission. Their website shows Orion in space with details of the mission elapsed time and the distance from Earth and the Moon. Orion spacecraft is set to return to Earth on December 11 with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Check out more news and information on Artemis Program in Science Times.