The crew of the Artemis II returns to Earth after completing their NASA mission flying around the Moon on Friday, April 10.
The astronauts aboard the Artemis II are completing their 10-day mission to circle and gather data from the Moon in America’s first mission to Earth’s satellite since 1972.
President Donald Trump spoke with the crew on Monday, lauding them as modern-day explorers that embodied the American spirit:
“Today, you’ve made history and made all of America really proud, incredibly proud,” Trump told NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen as they floated in the Orion capsule.
…
“There’s nothing like what you’re doing, circling around the moon for the first time in more than half a century and breaking the all-time record for the farthest distance from planet Earth — humans have never seen anything quite like what you’re doing,” the president said, thanking each astronaut individually, including Hansen, calling them “modern pioneers.”
“America is back. And America is back in many ways stronger than ever before. We’re the hottest country anywhere in the world.”
