BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — The Artemis II crew is reflecting on its historic journey around the Moon and on how the mission will help shape NASA’s next steps in deep-space exploration. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen returned to the Kennedy Space Center this week to thank some of the people who helped make the mission possible. They also saw their Orion spacecraft after traveling farther from Earth than any humans have gone before.
“We went 252,756 miles away from planet Earth, the farthest four humans have ever gone,” NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman said. “Getting to be back here to thank the workforce, to see the vehicle… it was very emotional.”
The crew said the success of Artemis II was built on trust, preparation, and teamwork. Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen said they understood the risks of traveling beyond low Earth orbit but had confidence in the team and the vehicle.
“We had a lot of faith and trust in this team, a lot of faith and trust in the vehicle,” Hansen said. “We were extremely optimistic that we were going to come back, but also knew that this was 10 days where there was significant risk throughout the entire thing.” NASA is now preparing for Artemis III, the next major step in the agency’s lunar campaign. That mission will test critical systems needed for future crewed lunar landings.
The Artemis II astronauts said the next crew will build on what they learned but will also face challenges of their own.
“This is their mission,” NASA astronaut Christina Koch said. “They are going to take it farther than we took it.”
Victor Glover said the mission provided valuable lessons about human spaceflight and what it will take to eventually send astronauts to the Moon’s south pole.
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