From a trip to the moon to a trip to the White House: The astronauts who captivated the world during NASA’s Artemis II mission landed next to President Donald Trump for a brief celebration of their achievement.
Trump, who has often touted the mission as emblematic of his objectives for space exploration in his second term, welcomed the four Artemis II crew members Wednesday, April 29, to the Oval Office.
The high-profile meeting came nearly three weeks after the astronauts returned from a 10-day journey that saw them swing around the moon without landing and travel farther from Earth than any humans before them. As a test flight under NASA’s Artemis campaign, the mission helped set the stage for a future moon landing – which Trump has said he wants to see before his term comes to an end.
Here’s what to know about the White House meeting, and what Trump had to say about the Artemis II astronauts as NASA’s moon program heats up.
President Trump hosts Artemis II astronauts in Oval Office
Trump hosted a celebratory meeting and news conference Wednesday, April 29, with the Artemis II astronauts at the White House.
Wearing blue jackets emblazoned with NASA’s iconic insignia, NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen stood behind Trump at the Resolute Desk – topped with a gold-plated model of the moon.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman also accompanied the astronauts in front of White House reporters, who asked Trump questions about Iran and UFOs, among other topics.
The meeting came nearly three weeks after the astronauts returned April 10 from a mission in which they made history by flying farther from Earth than any humans ever have. The astronauts also witnessed sights of the moon’s far side never seen with the unaided eye during a historic lunar flyby April 6.
Trump welcomed the Artemis II crew as his administration seeks to make big cuts to NASA’s science and education budget while increasing money spent on space exploration mission, like trips to the moon.
What did Trump say about the Artemis II astronauts?
Prior to the meeting, Trump had repeatedly praised the mission and the astronauts, referring to them after their lunar flyby as “modern-day pioneers.”
“We are WINNING, in Space, on Earth, and everywhere in between,” Trump had also written on Truth Social before the mission launched April 1 from the Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida, adding “economically, Militarily, and now, BEYOND THE STARS. Nobody comes close!”
Trump reiterated that praise during the April 29 meeting, calling the astronauts “very brave.”
“I don’t know how they do it,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t want to do it, but it takes people like this to make our country great.”
He then made a segue into an apparent jest, saying, ” I would have had no trouble making it” as an astronaut before asking Isaacman, “Is a president allowed to go up in one of these missions?”
“We can get working on that, Mr. President,” Isaacman responded with a laugh.
See photos of Trump welcoming Artemis II astronauts to White House
More NASA moon missions planned under Trump’s 2nd term
Established during Trump’s first term, NASA’s Artemis lunar program is the space agency’s ambitious campaign to return American astronauts to the surface of the moon for the first time since the Apollo era came to an end in 1972.
Trump, who has often highlighted the importance of America’s return to the moon under a reignited space race with China, reinforced his desire April 29 to see a lunar landing occur before the end of his second term.
“We don’t like to say definitely, because then you say, ‘Oh, we failed,’” Trump said. “So we have a good shot. We’ve authorized it.”
NASA’s next human mission under the Artemis program, Artemis III, is slated for sometime in 2027. Instead of going near the moon, the mission will serve as a test flight in which a new crew of astronauts aboard an Orion capsule will dock in Earth orbit with at least one of the commercial lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin.
NASA is also paying for a series of commercial robotic landings to various regions of the moon to transport cargo and conduct science experiments before humans return.
The first human moon landing could then occur in 2028 during the Artemis IV mission, which would be the first of many astronaut ventures to the surface in the years ahead. NASA’s ultimate objective is to construct a moon base on the south pole where astronauts could live and work as the agency prepares for the first crewed missions to Mars.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com. Subscribe to the free Florida TODAY newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Four weeks after launch from Florida, Artemis II crew meets Trump
Reporting by Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Florida Today
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
