The four Artemis II astronauts have said they formed a lifelong bond following NASA’s first lunar mission in more than 50 years, during their first public appearance since returning to Earth.
Speaking on Saturday, April 11, at Ellington Field in Houston, the crew received a standing ovation as they took to the stage. The astronauts included Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.
The appearance came a day after they safely returned on April 10, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego aboard the Orion spacecraft after a 10-day mission around the Moon. The crew became the first humans to view the Moon’s far side in full during a single mission.
They also set a new record for the farthest distance travelled from Earth, reaching 252,756 miles, surpassing the Apollo 13 record of 248,655 miles set in 1970.
NASA said Commander Reid Wiseman described the experience as life-changing, saying the crew would remain permanently connected.
“We are bonded forever, and no one down here is ever going to know what the four of us just went through,” he said.
Wiseman said the mission changed his perspective on life and relationships.
“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,” he said.
Pilot Victor Glover said the experience was difficult to fully describe.
“Even bigger than my challenge trying to describe what we went through, the gratitude of seeing what we saw, doing what we did, and being with who I was with, it’s too big to just be in one body,” he said.
Christina Koch, the first woman on a mission of this kind, said viewing Earth from space underscored its fragility.
“What struck me wasn’t just Earth, it was all the blackness around it. Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbingly in the universe,” she said.
She added: “Planet Earth: You. Are. A. Crew.”
Jeremy Hansen opened with humour, saying: “This is the furthest I’ve been away from Reid in a long time,” drawing laughter from the audience.
He said the mission reflected shared purpose and unity, adding that the crew’s bond was central to the experience.
“The reason I had them form up here with me is that when you look up here, you’re not looking at us. We are a mirror reflecting you,” he said.