The Artemis II crew reflects on their record-breaking lunar mission, emphasizing the importance of connecting with humanity and inspiring future space exploration.
The Artemis II crew, fresh from their historic 10-day lunar flyby, shared their experiences with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, describing the mission as a “glorious” adventure. The crew, consisting of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, returned to Earth on April 10, splashing down off the coast of San Diego. Their journey around the moon set a new record for the farthest distance traveled by humans in space, surpassing the previous mark established by Apollo 13 in 1970.
During their conversation with Waltz, the ambassador presented the crew with “MUNGA” hats, which stand for “Make the U.N. Great Again,” a nod to former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. The crew was asked about their reflections while gazing back at Earth from space.
“As a crew, we wanted to go for all and by all,” Wiseman stated at U.N. headquarters in New York. “And we wanted to set the stage for Artemis III. We wanted to get this space agency in this world ready for Artemis III and IV. But in the end, we really wanted to connect with humanity. We wanted humanity to just pause for a second and see that this world can still do something exceptionally well when they put their mind to it.”
Artemis III is anticipated to launch next year, with Artemis IV scheduled for the following year. Glover elaborated on the emotional journey of the mission, stating, “You asked how it felt, and it wasn’t one feeling for the entire mission. What we saw out the window was changing, and that is one of the unique things … I always felt the urge to just be grateful for what we were seeing, and to be grateful for what we were eventually going back to. And the other thing was just how blessed we are to have this.”
Koch shared her perspective on viewing Earth from space, noting how the surrounding darkness made the planet appear “even more special than it’s ever been.” She remarked, “Instead of this absolute background that just exists everywhere for us, because that’s all we’ve had, it makes the lines that we redraw on it seem big and important. You realize that actually, there’s nothing absolute or guaranteed about this, and that actually, there is such thing as a global scale. And this is the first time I’ve said that at the U.N., but the truth is that the global scale is our world. And what we do with it is our choice.”
Hansen reflected on the vastness of space and the dual feelings of insignificance and empowerment it inspired. “It was like this weird thing where, like stars, some stars look closer in our galaxy than others. And it just kept catching my eye, and it just kept making me feel really tiny, really small as an individual. But then, at the same time, I was out there experiencing it, and it made me feel very powerful as a human race. What we can do together, the fact that we were out there and something that has been really heartwarming since we got back to Earth and started to see how many people stopped to watch the mission and resonate with it,” he said.
Glover also recounted the emotional highs of the mission, particularly the “glorious moment” of returning to Earth. During their visit to the U.N., NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman took a moment to acknowledge the progress made since the establishment of the Artemis program, which was initiated by Trump. “In fact, in just 2020, President Trump established the Artemis Accords. Now, the initial framework was an agreement of principles between the United States and seven other like-minded countries on the responsible exploration of space,” he noted.
The crew’s visit to the U.N. followed a meeting with Trump at the White House earlier in the week, where the former president had also communicated with the crew while they were orbiting the moon in early April.
According to Fox News, the Artemis II mission not only set records but also aimed to inspire future generations to pursue space exploration and foster a sense of global unity.