Artemis II crew deliver emotional words after return from historic moon mission

A day after touching down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego following a historic 10-day mission around the moon, the Artemis II crew took to the stage at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston, Texas, and emotionally reflected on their time in space and their safe return.

“It’s a special thing to be human, and it’s a special thing to be on planet Earth,” Commander Reid Wiseman said, adding that he and his three crewmates were now “connected forever” before embracing.

“Welcome home, Artemis II,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said before introducing the crew members:

Weisman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen.

“There’s no doubt a price to pay when it comes to exploring the cosmos, but there’s also a payoff; There is a return to work creating technologies that improve life on Earth and to all who choose to pursue it, and to people around the world looking up and dreaming of what is possible. “The long wait is over,” said Isaacman. “After a brief 53-year hiatus, the show goes on, and NASA is back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon and bringing them home safely.”

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Wiseman, who spoke first, joked that he had “absolutely no idea what to say.”

“Twenty-four “Hours ago the world was this big outside the window and we were pretending to 39 and here we are back home in Ellington,” he said.

Glover says he still hasn’t figured it all out, thanking God: “Because even greater than the difficulties I have trying to describe what we’ve been through, the gratitude of seeing what we see while doing what we do and being with the person I’m with is too great to be in one body.”

Koch stated that the “beginning and end” of the mission are “human moments on Earth.”

“Ten days ago this journey began when our mission manager, Sean Duvall, knocked on my crew cabin door and whispered, ‘Christina, we’re taking off.’ To wake up!’ And last night I heard my nurse on the ship put me on my bed and say, ‘Ma’am, can I have a hug?’ It ended with him saying “

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The crew of the Artemis II embrace during a welcome home ceremony on Saturday. (CRIV)

He also said that he had a new understanding of the meaning of the word “crew” since his missions.

““The crew consists of people or a group of people who always, no matter what, every minute, act together towards the same goal, ready to silently sacrifice for each other,” he said. “This gives grace, makes it accountable. A crew has the same concerns and the same needs, and a crew is inevitably beautifully and dutifully bound together. When we saw Tiny Earth, people asked our team what impressions we got, and to be honest, it wasn’t just the Earth that impressed me. That was all the darkness around him.”

He also now thinks of Earth as a “lifeboat” in a dark universe.

“Planet Earth, you are a team,” he added.

The crew of the Artemis II embrace during a welcome home ceremony in Houston on Saturday. (CRIV)

Hansen expressed his gratitude to everyone who supports them and their mission.

“And I don’t think people will fully understand how well supported and trained we are. “It’s almost unbelievable,” he said.

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“What you saw was a group of people who loved to contribute, made meaningful contributions and enjoyed it,” he added of the crew, wrapping his arms around crew members.

““I suggest you this, when you look here, you are not looking at us,” he continued. “We are a mirror that reflects you. And if you like what you see, look a little deeper. It’s you.”