Washington, April 12 (IANS). NASA’s Artemis II mission has been successfully completed. All four astronauts on this mission – Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen – are healthy and have returned safely.
The four astronauts arrived at Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field in Houston on Saturday. Here NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman welcomed him with applause and hugged him. The crew members met their families on site for the first time since completing their historic 10-day journey around the moon.
Isaacman described this mission as the biggest adventure in human history. Reid Wiseman shared his experience with this mission, saying, “Victor, Christina and Jeremy, we are forever connected to each other and no one here will ever know what the four of us have experienced. It was the most special thing I have ever done in my life. It was not easy being more than 200,000 miles from home. Like, before launch it feels like the biggest dream on Earth, and when you are there, you are just in your Wanting to go back to family and friends. It’s a special thing to be human and it’s a special thing to be on planet Earth.”
Following Reed, astronaut Christina Koch shared her experience, saying, “Crew is a group that sticks together all the time, no matter what, that works together with the same purpose every minute, that is willing to make silent sacrifices for each other, that shows compassion, that takes responsibility. The crew has the same concerns and the same needs and the crew is beautifully, cohesively bonded.”
He said that his biggest realization was when he saw the Earth very small and the darkness spread around it from the window of Orion. “I know I haven’t learned everything this journey has taught me yet,” Koch said. “But there’s one new thing I know, Planet Earth: You are a crew.”
Additionally, Jeremy Hansen said, “There’s a term in our crew that we coined a long time ago, ‘Joy Train’. And it seems like you saw a lot of joy there. There was a lot of joy. We’re not always on the joy train, but we’re committed to getting back on the joy train as quickly as possible and that’s a useful life skill for any team.”
After this, Hansen emotionally shared his feelings while hugging his crew members. He said, “What you saw was a group of people who find joy in making a meaningful contribution. We are glad to know that this experience was very special for you too. All I would say is that when you look up at us (in space), do not think that you are just looking at us. We are like a mirror, in which your own reflection is reflected. If you like what you see, then look a little closer because it is you.”
Victor Glover lightened the emotional atmosphere with his words. People were laughing at his words. Victor Glover admitted that he still did not fully understand the entire mission and “what we just did,” but he was very thankful.
Glover said, “I’m going to keep this short because I’m scared to start. I still don’t understand what we did, and I’m scared to even try. When it started, I wanted to thank God in front of everyone, and I want to thank God again, because even greater than my challenge of describing what we went through, what we saw, what we did, and who I was with, thank you for being with me, It’s much bigger than just being in a body.”
He added, “I wanted to thank my family for everything. I love you. I wanted to thank our leadership. It’s changed since we got here in April 2023, but the qualities haven’t. We’re lucky to be in this agency together right now. Thank you to our air operations for this facility and for our ride home from San Diego. And I love you.”
–IANS
KK/AS