Houston —
It was a hero’s welcome for the four-person Artemis II crew following a textbook splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Friday evening. The astronauts arrived Saturday at Houston’s Ellington Field to cheers, a standing ovation and hugs from NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, reuniting with their families for the first time since their historic 10-day journey around the moon concluded. Isaacman referred to the mission as “the greatest adventure in human history.”
(From left) Artemis II astronauts Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman are seen onstage Saturday at Houston’s Ellington Field. NASA
The astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — completed a record-breaking lunar flyby, traveling deeper into space than any human had ventured before. The Artemis II mission was a test flight, serving as an experiment to lay the groundwork for future missions. But the moment of reuniting with their loved ones has been among the most anticipated steps of the crew’s journey.
“Victor, Christina and Jeremy, we are, we are bonded forever, and no one down here is ever going to know what the four of us just went through,” Wiseman said. “And it was the most special thing that will ever happen in my life.”
Wiseman acknowledged that no one will truly know what the crew’s families went through.
“This was not easy being 200,000-plus miles away from home,” Wiseman said. “Like, 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.” Wiseman was visibly choked up, and the four crewmembers stood to hug on stage.
During the trip, the astronauts were able to speak with their spouses and children via brief, remote calls. Wiseman, the mission commander, said the experience of listening to his crewmates’ conversations while crammed together aboard the 16.5-foot-wide (5-meter-wide) Orion spacecraft was a remarkable bonding experience.
“Hearing your crewmates giggling and crying and just gasping and listening and loving their families from afar,” Wiseman said, has been the “neatest” bonding experience.
(From left) Members of the International Space Station and Artemis II crews are seen on the screens inside the ISS flight control room in the Mission Control Center at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The two crews connected in a 15-minute ship-to-ship call on April 7. NASA
“Family is so important to all four of us, and that has been amazing,” Wiseman said during an April 8 dispatch from Orion.
Wiseman said he was moved to tears and could hardly speak when he first connected with his daughters from space. He is a widower, and during the mission, the crew proposed naming a lunar crater for his late wife, Carroll.
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