Artemis II Crew Returns From Historic Moon Voyage, Set for First Press Conference

Humanity Returns to the Moon

NASA's Artemis II mission has successfully completed the first crewed voyage to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. The four-person crew ÔÇö Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen ÔÇö launched on April 1 from Kennedy Space Center aboard NASA's Space Launch System rocket and splashed down off the coast of San Diego on the evening of April 10.

Record-Breaking Achievements

During the nearly 10-day mission, the crew reached a maximum distance of 252,756 miles from Earth, shattering Apollo 13's long-standing record of 248,655 miles. The astronauts manually piloted the Orion spacecraft, conducted a lunar flyby that captured over 7,000 images of the lunar surface including a solar eclipse, and tested critical life support systems for future deep-space missions.

Making History

The mission was rich with firsts. Victor Glover became the first Black astronaut to travel to the lunar vicinity. Christina Koch became the first woman to fly to the Moon. Jeremy Hansen became the first non-American to make the journey. During the flyby on April 6, Glover delivered a widely shared message from deep space: "Homo sapiens is all of us. No matter where you're from or what you look like ÔÇö we're all one people."

What Comes Next

The crew arrived at Ellington Field near Johnson Space Center on April 11 and have been undergoing standard post-flight evaluations and lunar science debriefs. They are set to hold their first postflight press conference at 2:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday, April 16, which will be livestreamed on NASA's YouTube channel. The mission's success paves the way for Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface.