The Artemis II astronauts, who recently returned from the far side of the Moon, have shared their remarkable experiences from the mission. This historic journey, which lasted nine days, took the crew further from Earth than any human has ever travelled.
During their first news conference since returning, the four crew members described feeling a range of strong emotions. Mission commander Reid Wiseman shared a standout moment during a solar eclipse visible only from their spacecraft as the Moon passed between them and the Sun. Wiseman remarked, “It’s very hard to fully grasp what we just went through,” highlighting the uniqueness of their experience.
The Artemis II mission marks the first crewed Moon mission in over 50 years. NASA has even bigger plans for the future. In 2028, the United States hopes to land astronauts on the Moon’s surface as part of the Artemis IV mission, aiming to establish a permanently crewed lunar base.
Although there have been delays, with the surface mission initially planned for December 2025, the Artemis II crew expressed confidence in achieving their goals. Mission specialist Christina Koch noted that the challenges of the unknown were far bigger than expected but that every successful objective met during their mission offered reassurance.
Following the Artemis II mission, NASA plans to launch Artemis III to practice docking the Orion spacecraft with a lunar lander while in Earth’s orbit. Preparations for this mission are already in progress, with the launch tower moved back to the Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida, getting ready for next year’s launch.
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