NASA’s Artemis II astronauts send first messages after moon mission

With a historic moon mission now complete, NASA administrators fielded multiple questions Friday night about the plans for the next mission after Artemis II, which is now scheduled to be Artemis III in 2027.

Artemis III will also involve a lunar flyby but no landing.

Currently, NASA’s revamped plan for the moon includes sending an additional space flight, Artemis IV, as soon as 2028. That mission is expected to land on the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.

According to Isaacman, that mission will also begin the work of building a permanent US moon base which will facilitate future human space travel and a manned mission to Mars.

The NASA administrators revealed their favorite moments during the mission. Henfling said that watching the astronauts name two craters was his best moment.

Commander Reid Wiseman asked the crew to name one crater after his late wife, Carroll, who died in 2020 after a battle with cancer.

Glaze said her favorite moment was when astronaut Christina Koch emerged from the capsule and the team knew the flight crew was safe.

Kshatriya added that he believes his best moment will be tomorrow when he can finally ‘see his friends.’

Kshatriya said Artemis II was the ‘most important human space exploration mission in decades.’

‘Hopefully, history is kind to us,’ he added.

Despite the importance of Artemis II, NASA leaders stressed that the mission is only the beginning.

Hu was taken aback when a reporter asked whether today was better for him than when he first watched his favorite film, Star Wars.

He said the iconic space-travel movie inspired him to pursue a career at NASA and recalled the first time he watched Star Wars with his late father.

Hu added that he wished his father were alive to see his dreams come true, but issued an emotional call to action to children watching at home, motivating them to pursue their dreams like he did.

Henfling said the team on the ground finally breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the spacecraft door crack open.

‘If you didn’t have anxiety bringing this spacecraft home, you probably didn’t have a pulse,’ he joked when asked if the team was anxious during the splashdown.

Glaze added that they expect the flight crew to return to Houston between 7am and 7pm tomorrow local time.

NASA administrators confirmed that the Artemis II flight crew is ‘happy and healthy.’ They added that the astronauts are ready to come home to Houston.

Glaze praised the crew for their ‘teamwork’ and ‘camaraderie.’

When asked when the crew for Artemis III would be revealed, Kshatriya declined to give specifics but suggested the announcement would be ‘soon.’

Rick Henfling, the entry flight director for NASA’s Artemis II, beamed as he delivered his remarks, calling the mission ‘spectacular.’

Howard Hu, a program manager at NASA, added that Artemis II was the ‘start of a new era’ of space exploration.

‘We accomplished what we set out to do,’ Shawn Quinn, manager of NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program, said, adding, ‘It’s good to be NASA, and it’s good to be an American today.’

NASA leaders are addressing the press after the successful splashdown of Artemis II.

Amit Kshatriya, the associate administrator of NASA, said tonight’s success was not luck, but the result of 100 people doing their jobs.

‘The path to the lunar surface is open, but the work ahead is greater than the work behind us,’ Kshatriya said.

‘Let us not go to plant flags, but to stay.’

Dr Lori Glaze, NASA’s deputy administrator, said her team was ‘thrilled’ to have the four astronauts home safely.

She added that this mission was the first of many to come.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen were able to walk under their own power and were seen in good spirits following their ten-day moon mission.

The astronauts hugged NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman before heading to the medical bay on board the USS John P Murtha.

Previous space flights, including the ten-month saga of stranded astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, required medical personnel to carry the astronauts because they were unable to walk well from being in space for so long.

The four astronauts of Artemis II have all been successfully airlifted by helicopter to the USS John P Murtha.

The naval vessel will transport the crew back to the California coast before they head to NASA’s space center in Houston.

Once on board, the astronauts could be seen giving thumbs up and saluting the recovery teams on the flight deck.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch waved to cameras as she sat with crewmate Victor Glover.

President Donald Trump congratulated astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen shortly after their return to Earth.

‘Congratulations to the Great and Very Talented Crew of Artemis II,’ he wrote on Truth Social.

‘The entire trip was spectacular, the landing was perfect and, as President of the United States, I could not be more proud!

‘I look forward to seeing you all at the White House soon. We’ll be doing it again and then, next step, Mars!’

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen have made their first appearance on Earth after exiting the Orion spacecraft Friday night.

The crew emerged safe and in good health following their ten-day mission to the moon and a medical evaluation by NASA flight surgeons who boarded the module moments earlier.

The astronauts could be seen embracing the recovery teams while they awaited to be airlifted by Navy helicopters flying overhead.

Crews at the splashdown site gave thumbs up and reported that the astronauts were in perfect with no ill effects of the space flight and landing.