In a grand celebration that echoed their monumental achievement, the Artemis II astronauts were met with rousing cheers and applause upon their return. This enthusiastic reception was held at Ellington Field, situated near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where they arrived on Saturday. The historic lunar mission set a groundbreaking record in deep space travel, marking a significant milestone for NASA’s renewed lunar exploration efforts.

The crew, consisting of Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, had just completed their journey, splashing down safely off the southern California coast the previous evening. Their return heralded a moment of triumph not only for the astronauts but also for the entire team that played a part in this ambitious mission.

Reunited with their families, the astronauts took to the stage in a hangar, surrounded by NASA staff and invited guests. Emotion was palpable as Commander Wiseman reflected on their journey. “This was not easy,” he admitted, his voice filled with emotion. “Before you launch, it feels like it’s the greatest dream on Earth. And when you’re out there, you just want to get back to your families and your friends. It’s a special thing to be a human, and it’s a special thing to be on planet Earth.”

Adding to this sentiment, Victor Glover shared his own introspective thoughts. “I have not processed what we just did and I’m afraid to start even trying,” he confessed, encapsulating the awe and complexity of their lunar adventure.

“Before you launch, it feels like it’s the greatest dream on Earth. And when you’re out there, you just want to get back to your families and your friends. It’s a special thing to be a human, and it’s a special thing to be on planet Earth.”

“I have not processed what we just did and I’m afraid to start even trying,” Glover said.

Hansen said the four of them embodied love, “and extracting joy out of that” as they joined together to stand in a row, embracing one another.

“When you look up here, you’re not looking at us. We are a mirror reflecting you. And if you like what you see, then just look a little deeper. This is you,” he said.

The jubilant crowd included flight directors and the launch director, Orion capsule and exploration system managers, high-ranking military officers, members of Congress, the space agency’s entire blue-suited astronaut corps and even retired ones, and more.

Historic moon mission

During Artemis II’s nearly 10-day mission, the astronauts voyaged deeper into space than the moon explorers of decades past and captured views of the lunar far side never witnessed before by human eyes. A total solar eclipse added to the cosmic wonder.

On their record-breaking flyby, the astronauts reached a maximum 406,771km from Earth before hanging a U-turn behind the moon, eclipsing Apollo’s 13 distance record.

The mission also revealed a new side of our planet with an Earthset photo, showing Earth setting behind the grey, pockmarked moon. The image echoed the famous Earthrise shot from 1968 taken by the world’s first lunar visitors, Apollo 8.

“Honestly, what struck me wasn’t necessarily just Earth, it was all the blackness around it. Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbedly in the universe,” Koch said.

“Planet Earth you are a crew.”

Despite the accomplishments, Artemis II astronauts had to contend with a more mundane problem — a malfunctioning space toilet. NASA promised a design fix before longer moon-landing missions.

Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen were the first humans to fly to the moon since Apollo 17 closed out NASA’s first exploration era in 1972. Twenty-four astronauts flew to the moon during Apollo, including 12 moonwalkers.

It was crucial for NASA that Artemis II go well.

The space agency is already preparing for next year’s Artemis III, which will see a new crew practice docking its capsule with a lunar lander in orbit around Earth. T

That will set the stage for the all-important Artemis IV moon landing in 2028, when two astronauts attempt a touchdown near the lunar south pole.

“The long wait is over. After a brief 53-year intermission, the show goes on,” Isaacman said.

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