On Saturday (11/04/2026), the Artemis II astronauts expressed surprise at their record-breaking lunar mission and called for unity on Earth after seeing the planet’s isolation as a “lifeboat” in space.
The crew held a press conference as NASA celebrated the success of the mission.
Astronauts completed the first gravitational maneuver around the moon in more than 50 years and traveled farther into space than any human before, culminating in a soft powered landing Friday off the California coast.
Artemis II was the first crewed mission in a NASA program that seeks to establish a permanent presence on the Moon, including the possible construction of a base that could be used for further exploration, including Mars.
“What struck me was not only the Earth, it was all the blackness around it. Earth was just this lifeboat hanging peacefully in the universe,” said Christina Koch.
“There’s something new that I know now, and it’s this: Planet Earth, you’re a team.”
“I would suggest to them that when they look here, they don’t look at us. We are a mirror that reflects them,” commented Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
“And if you like what you see, then just look a little deeper. It’s you,” he added.
As they raced through deep space and orbited the Moon, the Artemis astronauts took thousands of photos, amassing an impressive portfolio of images.
gs (afp, efe, ap)
