STORY: The crew of the Artemis II mission made a triumphant return to Houston, Texas, on Saturday (April 11) a day after they returned from their journey to the moon.

The Artemis II capsule and its four-member crew safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday (April 10) after nearly 10 days in space, capping the first voyage by humans to the vicinity of the moon in over half a century.

Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen were given a hero’s welcome by NASA staff and other dignitaries at Ellington Field, near the Johnson Space Center, where they trained for their mission.

“Victor, Christina, and Jeremy, we are bonded forever,” an emotional Mission Commander Wiseman said. “And no one down here is ever going to know what the four just went through. And it was the most special thing that will ever happen in my life.”

The Artemis II flight, traveling a total of 694,392 miles (1,117,515 km) in two Earth orbits and a climactic lunar flyby some 4,000 miles from its surface, was the debut crewed test flight in a series of Artemis missions that aim to return astronauts to the lunar surface starting in 2028.

The crew members thanked NASA leadership and their families, and expressed gratitude for the extraordinary opportunity to re-ignite the lunar space program.

The voyage, following the uncrewed Artemis I test flight around the moon by the Orion spacecraft in 2022, marked a critical hardware test for a planned attempt later this decade to land astronauts on the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17 in late 1972.

NASA is seeking to achieve a crewed moon landing ahead of China, which is aiming to put its own crews there around 2030. The agency more broadly aims to establish a long-term lunar presence as a steppingstone to eventual human exploration of Mars.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: HOUSTON, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (APRIL 11, 2026) (NASA – For editorial use only)

1. (SOUNDBITE)(English) NASA ADMINISTRATOR, JARED ISAACMAN, WELCOMING THE ARTEMIS II CREW ONSTAGE, SAYING:

“This is why it is now my great privilege to welcome to the stage, Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen. Ladies and gentlemen, your Artemis II crew.”

2. VARIOUS OF ARTEMIS II CREW COMING ONSTAGE TO APPLAUSE AND EMBRACING ISAACMAN; [L-R], MISSION COMMANDER REID WISEMAN, PILOT VICTOR GLOVER, MISSION SPECIALIST CHRISTINA KOCH, MISSION SPECIALIST JEREMY HANSEN

3. (SOUNDBITE)(English) NASA ADMINISTRATOR, JARED ISAACMAN, SAYING: “Thank you for showing us your courage, your professionalism [PAN OF CREW], your unity, and your humanity. Thank you, for showing the moon again. Thank you showing us planet Earth again. And thank you for contributing to the greatest adventure in human history. Welcome home, Artemis II.”

4. AUDIENCE APPLAUDING

5. ARTEMIS II MISSION COMMANDER, REID WISEMAN, JOINING WITH CREW TO SYNC THEIR WATCHES, AS THEY SAY: “Three, two, one, Integrity.”

6. (SOUNDBITE)(English) ARTEMIS II MISSION COMMANDER, REID WISEMAN, SAYING:

“So, we wear these acti-watches, and if you hit this button, the red light lights up, which tells you you've got a good battery. And I don't know why, but for the last two years when we were these things, it just kind of brings us back into focus. Whenever we get a little distracted. So, we did a lot of syncing when we were on this mission for no reason whatsoever. I have absolutely no idea what to say. This is—24 hours ago, the Earth was that big out the window, and we were doing Mach 39, and here we are back at Ellington [ELLINGTON FIELD JOINT RESERVE BASE] at home.”

7. WISEMAN SPEAKING ONSTAGE

8. (SOUNDBITE)(English) ARTEMIS II MISSION COMMANDER, REID WISEMAN, SAYING:

“Victor, Christina, and Jeremy, we are bonded forever. And no one down here is ever going to know what the four just went through. And it was the most special thing that will ever happen in my life.”

9. (SOUNDBITE)(English) ARTEMIS II MISSION COMMANDER, REID WISEMAN, SAYING:

“No one knows what the families went through, man. This was not easy. Being 200,000 plus miles away from home. Like, before you launch, it feels like it's the greatest dream on Earth. And when you're out there, you just want to get back to your families and your friends. It's a special thing to be a human, and it's a special thing to be on planet Earth. Thank you.”

10. WISEMAN AND GLOVER SHAKING HANDS

11. (SOUNDBITE)(English) ARTEMIS II PILOT, VICTOR GLOVER, SAYING:

“I have not processed what we just did, and I'm afraid to start even trying. When this started on April 3rd, I wanted to thank God in public. And I want to thank God again, because even bigger than my challenge trying to describe what we went through, the gratitude of seeing what we saw, doing what we did and being with who I was with, it's too big to just be in one body. And I wanted to thank our families for everything that he just said, so great words, great words, great words. I love you, but not just those five beautiful cocoa skinned ladies right there. All of you. And I wanted to thank our leadership. And I love you. Thank you.”

12. (SOUNDBITE)(English) ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST, CHRISTINA KOCH, SAYING:

“When we saw tiny Earth, people asked our crew what impressions we had. And honestly, what struck me wasn't necessarily just Earth, it was all the blackness around it. Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbingly in the universe. [KOCH GOES SILENT FOR A MOMENT] Uh-oh. [SHOT OF AUDIENCE WATCHING] So, I may have not learned — I know I haven't learned — everything that this journey has yet to teach me. But there's one new thing I know, and that is, Planet Earth, you are a crew. Thank you.” / ARTEMIS II CREW EMBRACE ONSTAGE

13.CLOSE ON ARTEMIS II CREW EMBRACING

14. (SOUNDBITE)(English) ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST, JEREMY HANSEN, SAYING:

“Well, it's been a lot. This isn't helping. But this is the furthest I've been away from Reid in a long time. [WISEMAN CROSSES THE STAGE TO TOUCH HIM, THEN SITS AT HIS SIDE] Thank you, all right, that's good, thank you.”

15. (SOUNDBITE)(English & French) ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST, JEREMY HANSEN, SAYING:

“And so I think I'll start with gratitude. Gratitude for my family. Gratitude for NASA, for its leadership. Gratitude for Canadian Space Agency. Gratitude pour le Canadien et le Canadienne.”

16. (SOUNDBITE)(English & French) ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST, JEREMY HANSEN, SAYING:

“And the last one is, I need your help for this. Come on up here, guys. [ARTEMIS II CREW STAND BY HIM AND JOIN ARMS] The last one is love. What you saw was a group of people who loved contributing, having meaningful contribution and extracting joy out of that. And what we've been hearing is that was something special for you to witness, and the reason I had them form up here with me is because I would suggest to you that when you look up here, you're not looking at us. We are a mirror reflecting you. And if you like what you see, then just look a little deeper. This is you.”

17. AUDIENCE STANDING AND APPLAUDING

18. VARIOUS OF CREW EMBRACING ONSTAGE

19. (SOUNDBITE)(English) NASA FLIGHT OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, NORM KNIGHT, SAYING:

“Before we close, let's bring our crew back to center stage one more time for a big Texas round of applause and a big welcome home.”

20. VARIOUS OF ARTEMIS II CREW ONSTAGE AS AUDIENCE APPLAUDS