New Delhi, April 17 (IANS). Astronauts Reese Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen of American space agency NASA’s Artemis II have returned safely to Earth. Making a public statement for the first time after the mission, he shared the exciting experience of space and the moon and expressed his gratitude for the immense support received from all over the world.
The crew members said emotionally that the experience of being in the vicinity of the Moon, far away from Earth, was life-changing. He expressed hope that this mission will inspire the youth towards science and space.
Mission Commander Reed Wiseman said, “Victor, Christina, Jeremy… thank you all. This was an incredible adventure, and it was only possible because of the support of this crew and each other throughout the journey. We have formed a special bond forever. Four people could not be closer than they are family.”
Wiseman thanked the entire team. He named the Orion spacecraft ‘Ote-Integrity’ and said that NASA and its international partners created this wonderful machine, which could rotate four humans around the moon and bring them back safely. He also thanked the media and people around the world who paid attention and connected with the mission.
Wiseman said, “When we returned home, we were amazed at the tremendous support, pride and sense of belonging for this mission from around the world. We just wanted to do something that would bring the world together and unite.”
Mission Specialist Christina Koch appeared emotional. He said, “We have done all this together. We carried your hearts with us and your hearts made our hearts happy.”
Christina told that after returning, her husband talked to the people and told that the mission has had a deep positive impact on the people. He said, “The impact was not just about the number of viewers, but it also left behind all the boundaries and identities between people. The basic mantra of astronauts is that they fly like friends and land like friends. We flew like friends and returned like best friends.”
Crew members said that during the mission they encouraged each other and set an example of teamwork. He thanked the entire NASA team, engineers and people around the world, whose support made this mission successful.
The Artemis II mission is an important step in manned flight around the Moon, preparing for the future Artemis program and human landings on the Moon. The astronauts said that this journey was inspiring not only for them but for the entire humanity.
–IANS
MT/ABM
