Just a week after returning from their ground-breaking 10-day journey around the moon, the Artemis II astronauts say they’ve been overwhelmed by how closely people on Earth followed their mission — and how much it meant to everyone.
And they’re still trying to fully grasp what their trip father into space than any other humans meant to them.
Hansen mentioned that he and his crewmates constantly shared a sense of smelling small as they ventured further into space.
“I kept seeing that same thing and that same feeling: small and powerless, yet powerful together,” said Mission Specialist Jeremey Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency.
During the flight, commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and missions specialists Christina Koch and Hansen broke a human spaceflight distance record, performed science and lunar observations, and wowed the world with stunning images and heartfelt moments — all to set the stage for a future Artemis mission that will land humans back on the moon.
After a docking test with one or both lunar landers in Earth orbit next year during Artemis III, the Artemis IV mission is poised to land a crew on the moon. And from there, NASA vows an extensive moon base as a permanent lunar presence.
‘Global outpouring of support’ for crew
“When we came home, we were shocked at the global outpouring of support, of pride of ownership of this mission,” Wiseman said. “And really, I think at the beginning, that’s what the four of us wanted. We wanted to go out and try to do something that would bring the world together — to unite the world.”
When asked if they knew the impact the Artemis II mission was having, the astronauts said they really didn’t at the time. The crew noted that they were talking to Mission Control and all had a few calls with their families. They were focused on doing their jobs.
Koch noted that she doesn’t like being the center of attention; she doesn’t even like people celebrating her birthday. When her husband realized she was being thrust into global spotlight, he called her siblings to discuss just who was going to break the news to her when she returned.
“Because we didn’t know. And in fact, what we were told really — through talking with a couple times with our families — was that there was an impact,” said Koch. “Not necessarily the number of viewers or anything like that, but that there was a positive impact.”
On a video call when Koch was still in space, her husband broke the news to her that the mission was creating a positive global impact.
“It brought tears to my eyes, and I said, ‘that’s all we ever wanted’,” Koch said.
“We took your hearts with us, and your hearts lifted our hearts,” said Koch.
Artemis II astronauts reflect on shift in perspective
While the four saw stunning views while deep in space, they had a mission to accomplish. But Wiseman admitted sometimes the view was powerful enough to pull his attention away from the work at hand.
“Whenever someone would slip out, it was amazing to watch the other three pull them back in,” he said.
Packed schedule aside, all admitted the views were not just life changing, but difficult to put into words and even to comprehend.
This was especially true when the four were the first to witness the moon eclipse the sun from that distance and vantage point in space.
Upon returning to Earth, Wiseman, who described himself as not particularly religious, requested to speak with the chaplain on the Navy ship. When Wiseman laid eyes on the chaplain and saw the cross he was wearing, Wiseman said he shed tears.
“There was just no other avenue for me to explain anything or to experience anything,” he said.
As for what they saw, Hansen said it was hard to choose a favorite. What kept grabbing his attention was the three-dimensional depth to the galaxy and where the stars, moon and Earth were.
“And that the sense I had was the sense of fragility and feeling small, infinitesimally small — but yet this very powerful feeling as a human being, like as a group,” said Hansen.
Artemis crew say they returned as best friends
Koch joked that initially during their first time sleeping in Integrity, she wanted them all to be closer together.
“The astronauts’ creed is always to launch as friends, as land and land as friends. And when you live together in a small group for as long as you do on the space station, or even 10 days, it’s a challenge,” said Wiseman. “But I am here to tell the world we launched as friends and we came back as best friends.”
“We are just we are bonded forever. I mean, that’s the closest four humans can be and not be a family,” he said.
Artemis II astronauts reflect on Orion spacecraft performance
Wiseman said the Orion spacecraft handled extremely well during flight.
“They fixed everything that we asked,” said Wiseman.
Glover noted that all four of them got a chance to fly the spacecraft.
“It flew better than the sim in all areas,” he said.
They were asked about little hiccups during the mission, such as with the toilet. At one point, Koch played the role of “space plumber”, working with Mission Control to get the toilet fully operational. Wiseman explained that while the toilet flushed just fine but the issue was a clog in the vent line.
“I just want to say 100% point blank, that was a wonderful toilet,” he said.
The toilet could only hold so much before it had to be dumped into space.
“That is an interesting thing to see out the window,” Wiseman laughed. “It’s just like a billion little, tiny flecks of ice heading out into deep space.”
As for the spacecraft’s heatshield, which prompted concerns and triggered an investigation after the uncrewed Artemis I Orion spacecraft saw charring during reentry, the crew and NASA both report initial satisfaction with what they saw.
Wiseman said before boarding the helicopters on the night of splashdown, the crew collectively took a look at their spacecraft. Slight charring was seen where the spacecraft’s heatshield meets the cone structure, yet the crew was satisfied with how the full bottom of the heatshield held up.
“It looked wonderful to us,” said Wiseman. “It looked great. And that ride in was really amazing.”
NASA plans to fully study how the spacecraft held up and release findings to the public.
Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: ‘Powerful together’ Artemis II astronauts reflect on moon journey
Reporting by Brooke Edwards, Florida Today / Florida Today
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