American astronaut after traveling on Artemis II: “We saw sights that no human has ever seen before, not even in Apollo”

April 1 marked a historic day with the launch of Artemis II. Although the crew did not land on the lunar surface, the mission represented humanity’s return to the Moon’s vicinity for the first time in more than 50 years.

The Artemis II crew included NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency. Wiseman served as commander, Glover as pilot, and Koch and Hansen as mission specialists.

Artemis II commander: “We saw sights that no human has ever seen before”

Following the Artemis II mission’s return to Earth on April 10, the crew shared their experiences in several interviews and also discussed aspects of the mission with President Donald Trump.

“Today you made history and filled all of America with pride, tremendous pride,” President Trump told the crew after the lunar flyby. He also asked the astronauts what the most unforgettable part of the mission had been.

“We saw things no human being has ever seen before, not even during the Apollo program, and that was incredible for us,” Commander Reid Wiseman responded. Pilot Victor Glover added that there are “no adjectives” capable of describing what they witnessed.

After several days in flight, the Orion capsule traveled around the Moon. According to NASA data, on April 6 the four Artemis II astronauts made history by completing the farthest journey from Earth ever undertaken by humans.

The mission reached a maximum distance of 252,757 miles from Earth, surpassing the previous record set by Apollo 13 at 248,655 miles.

Lunar exploration and missions to Mars: the goal of Artemis II

Artemis II was the first crewed flight test of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft, allowing the agency to test the technologies needed for long-term lunar exploration and future human missions to Mars.

The program’s inaugural mission, Artemis I, launched in November 2022. It entered orbit around the Moon and remained there for 25 days, though it carried no crew.

For the crewed Artemis II mission, NASA’s top priorities were crew safety and health, including ensuring a safe return home. The condition and safety of the spacecraft itself came next, followed by the mission’s scientific and operational objectives.

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