Artemis II Astronauts Speak From Space as They Head to Moon
Four astronauts on NASA's Artemis II mission spoke to news outlets from space while traveling 180,000 miles from Earth toward the moon. The crew includes commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.
Four astronauts aboard NASA's Artemis II spacecraft gave interviews to news outlets while traveling through space toward the moon. The crew launched on April 1, 2026, and spoke to reporters when they were about 180,000 miles from home.
The team includes NASA commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. They successfully completed a crucial engine burn that put their Orion spacecraft on the right path to reach the moon.
On Monday, the crew will loop around the moon's far side before returning to Earth. This flight will push humans farther from our planet than anyone has traveled in history, breaking records set during the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 70s.
The astronauts have been so busy with mission tasks that they haven't had time to talk to their families yet, but that will change now that key maneuvers are complete. During their interviews, they described seeing Africa and Europe from space.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission in NASA's program to return humans to the moon. Unlike the Apollo missions, this program aims to establish a permanent human presence on the lunar surface.
This mission will take humans farther from Earth than anyone has ever traveled before. It marks a major step toward returning people to the moon for the first time since 1972, paving the way for future lunar exploration and Mars missions.
The crew will loop around the moon's far side on Monday before returning to Earth to complete their historic mission.
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