Artemis II Crew Returns Home to Hero's Welcome After Moon Flyby

Artemis II's four-astronaut crew touched down in Houston on Saturday, arriving at Ellington Field near NASA's Johnson Space Center after splashing down offshore San Diego the night before. The huge, celebratory welcome brought hundreds of colleagues, space center workers, and families together, while the team checked in with their spouses and children before taking the stage in a crowded hangar.\n\nOn stage, commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada's Jeremy Hansen spoke with a mixture of relief and awe. 'This was not easy,' Wiseman said, describing the long road to the mission's finish and its emotional payoff. Glover added that he hadn't fully processed what they had just accomplished and was afraid to begin.\n\nHansen reminded the audience they are 'a mirror reflecting you' and that if people like what they see, they should look a little deeper. Their remarks came after the four wrapped up a record flyby that sent them as far as 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth before looping behind the Moon. The mission also produced an Earthset photo that framed Earth against the Moon's stark landscape.\n\nKoch reflected on Earth with a line about Earth's role in the human story: 'Earth, you are a crew,' and she described Earth as a lifeboat hanging undisturbedly in the universe.\n\nBack on Earth, NASA officials noted Artemis II is a major milestone that paves the way for future crews and missions, and the agency is already looking toward the next challenges.

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