Artemis II crew reflects on moon mission before splashdown
Upon their return home, the Artemis II crew shared reflections on their trip and their phone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
In a country divided over the Iran war, immigration, midterm elections, soaring gas prices, and the federal shutdown, they set out on a journey into space to try to unite a little.
From Florida’s Key West to Washington’s Puget Sound, Americans watched together in hope as the Artemis II astronaut took off, dripping water and touching a country 250,000 miles away. The wonder of it all helped us forget our differences, at least for a few rotations of the Earth.
“Everyone experiences it. This universal connection doesn’t happen all the time,” said Jade Boudreau, a 34-year-old aerospace watercolorist. The 34-year-old aerospace watercolorist traveled from his home in Chicago to witness the launch of Artemis II in Florida on April 1, and has been glued to the livestream from space ever since.
“There’s something special about me that I share with all the other spectators,” Boudreau told USA TODAY. “It’s innate. It’s in your heart, it’s in your soul. It’s a very human thing.”
Artemis II’s four pioneering astronauts also felt that love. deeply.
“As we continue to unravel the mysteries of the universe, I would like to remind you of one of the most important mysteries on Earth: love,” mission pilot Victor Glover said from space. “We still feel your love from the Earth. And to all of you on Earth and on Earth, we love you from the Moon.”
Since the Orion spacecraft launched from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, those returning to the little blue dot we call Earth have experienced many groundbreaking moments, along with the four astronauts who soared high on the Artemis II mission.
We gasped when they shared powerful images of both the Earth and the Moon. During a 40-minute communications blackout, we held our breath as our crew traveled farther than any human being had ever traveled before. And we cried when the astronauts decided to name a particularly bright crater on the moon after mission commander Reed Wiseman’s late wife. Then there was the bathroom trouble and the floating jar of Nutella.
Artemis is a story that has given many of us respite from our differences – although it is inevitable, it cannot solve everything.
As astronauts regain their footing on Earth and NASA scientists strive to learn all they can from the data and observations they’ve collected, USA TODAY looks at what Artemis II means for the country and how the mission lays the groundwork for humanity’s return to the moon in 2028.
Exploration of Artemis II: “We needed this”
Artemis II’s lunar exploration is historic for many reasons.
The trip marked the first time a woman (crew specialist Christina Koch) and a black man (mission pilot Victor Glover) traveled beyond low Earth orbit. It was also the first time Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen flew on the moon.
The mission took the four astronauts farther into space than any human before them, some 400,000 miles from Earth.
David Moulton, director of the Utah Valley Astronomy Club in Orem, Utah, said the Artemis II mission tapped into the same instinct that brought our distant ancestors to North America thousands of years ago: humanity’s desire for exploration.
“Humans are explorers, and we need that,” Moulton told USA TODAY. “We all have a little Neil Armstrong in our hearts.”
He said Artemis II brought a sense of unity at a time when American society was in turmoil due to war and civil unrest, not unlike the atmosphere of the late 1960s and early 1970s when the Apollo program captivated the nation.
“We remember the national unity these missions brought to our country during a very difficult time in our history,” he said. “We are now going through another difficult time with war and civil war. We needed this now, just as they needed it then.”
Hector Ibe, 38, founder of a Philadelphia-area astronomy club, was among 50 people at the Artemis II launch watch party. At a time when Americans are divided, he said, it’s nice to see people come together across age, racial, religious and political differences.
“It was a great moment because everyone forgot what happened,” he said. “People were crying, screaming, hugging each other. This is what we need right now on this planet, and it brings the community together.”
Joseph Darowski, an assistant professor of English at Brigham Young University who studies pop culture, said media consumption is so fragmented that “it takes a really big story to break through the news flood.”
Artemis’ mission is a largely apolitical story important enough to overcome its divided environment, he said. He said his 9-year-old son was “obsessed with the mission” and watched the live footage all spring break.
“Whereas our biggest cultural stories, politics and sports, have a sense of us versus them, winners versus losers, Artemis’ mission has a unifying sense of wonder,” he said. “The story of Artemis feels like a breath of fresh air.”
Heartwarming moments big and small
Over the course of the 10-day Artemis II mission, many moments stood out as cultural touchstones. And unlike in the days of Apollo, Americans now have social media to express every emotion, create memes, and share powerful quotes from astronauts in real time.
One such moment was when the Artemis II crew announced that they had decided to name one of the moon’s craters after mission commander Reed Wiseman’s late wife. Wiseman was just 44 years old when his wife Carol passed away in 2020 after a five-year battle with cancer. Wiseman is a single father to the couple’s two daughters, Katie and Ellie.
“Many years ago we began this journey. We lost a loved one in our close-knit astronaut family,” pilot Victor Glover said as Wiseman wiped away tears. Glover said the crater is a “bright spot on the moon.”
“I’d like to call you Carol,” he said in a choked voice.
The emotional moment went viral, with users on social media reacting with comments such as “He gave her the moon” and “I cried when I saw it live, I cried when I saw it again, I cried when I saw it the third time.”
Then there were the lighter moments, like when a jar of Nutella unexpectedly drifted inside the Orion spacecraft during a space mission broadcast.
On social media, people were quick to enjoy the moment, with one person joking: “Nutella’s marketing team just took a week off.” Another wrote, “Nutella has gone where Nutella has never gone before.”
And then there was a profound moment that inspired millions of people. Americans were awestruck when astronauts reached humanity’s furthest point in space.
“It was a truly magical experience,” one viewer wrote. “I’m so grateful to be alive to witness this.”
Artemis II lays the foundation for returning humans to the moon
The huge success of the Artemis II mission helped lay the groundwork for a return of humans to the Moon in 2028 and, ultimately, a human expedition to Mars.
If 2028 goes as expected, humans will set foot on the moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. According to NASA, the planned mission will include a walk on the moon and a series of scientific experiments.
NASA’s ultimate goal is to conduct multiple manned and unmanned moon landings over the next few years and build a $20 billion lunar base where astronauts can live and work long-term. This research is considered a stepping stone for human exploration of Mars.
The Artemis II mission “marks the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship with the moon,” Ed Macaulay, a lecturer in physics and data science at Queen Mary University of London, said in an April 10 op-ed for The Conversation.
He added: “This experience reignited the optimistic spirit of the Apollo era in a new generation.”
On Friday night, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman cheered from the deck of the Orion spacecraft recovery vehicle, the John P. Murtha, moments after Artemis II made a perfect splashdown as millions of people watched with bated breath.
“We’re back to the job of sending astronauts back to the moon,” he said. And he promised: “This is just the beginning.”
Contributor: Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, Florida Today
