NASA’s Artemis II Makes Historic Journey Around The Moon

On April 1st, four astronauts made history as they prepared to journey around the moon. Artemis II officially launched at 6:35:12 p.m. Eastern Time. As the launch window opened, NASA flight controllers briefly paused the countdown to address minor technical issues, resuming it a few minutes later before liftoff.

Artemis II carried the astronauts on a 9.5-day journey that took them around the Moon and back to Earth. The crew traveled inside the Orion spacecraft, designed for deep-space exploration.

Unlike future Artemis missions, Artemis II did not attempt a landing. Instead, it was designed as a test flight to evaluate critical systems and equipment. NASA officials say the mission was a key step in preparing for future lunar landings under the Artemis program.

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Who Was Aboard Artemis II?

The historic trip was commanded by Reid Wiseman, and also included Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen.

The crew aboard Artemis II was significant as it included the first woman and first Black astronaut to travel to deep lunar space, as well as the first Canadian astronaut assigned to a Moon mission.

The spacecraft returned to Earth on April 10th. Splashdown occured in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, where recovery teams were positioned to retrieve both the crew and the capsule.

Once back to earth, the astronauts underwent medical evaluations, and each crew member had their own specialized personnel evaluating their individual conditions.

Artemis II Crew Holds First News Conference Following Lunar Mission

On Thursday (April 16), less than one week upon arriving back on Earth, the four astronauts spoke at a news conference, answering questions about their incredible mission.

They explained that above all, the four of them truly became family. After years of training together and extensive mission simulations, the Artemis II crew describe their bond as something deeper than that of typical crewmates.

“That’s the closest four humans can be and not be a family,” Wiseman said in the opening segment.

Beyond the technical milestones, the crew says the mission has also reinforced what it means to be fully human.

“We wanted to go out and try to do something that would bring the world together, to unite the world,” Wiseman continued. “We were certainly hooked on this mission, but when we came home, we were shocked at the global outpouring of support, of pride, of ownership of this mission, we want to thank the world. Thank you for tuning in.”

The astronauts said they have remained busy since returning to Earth and will need more time to fully process the impact of their mission on both themselves and the world.

However, each crew member expressed feeling energized by the experience and ready to continue pushing forward in human spaceflight.

“I think something that we all feel and we try to share is how much we want to reflect back to you all how we did this, not we as a crew, we as countries and as humans did this,” Glover said.

You can watch the Artemis II astronauts in their first press conference following their historic mission below.