Nearly a week has passed since the four astronauts of the Artemis II mission returned from their historic lunar journey, yet the crew members shared on Thursday that they are still mentally processing the experience and reflecting on its significant moments.
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“We haven’t had much time to process everything,” NASA astronaut Victor Glover told NBC News when asked about the intense moments during the Orion capsule’s re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere, traveling at over 24,000 miles per hour.
“It was a very intense moment; we had never experienced anything like it before. Every sound, every mechanism was critical,” Glover remarked.
Glover, alongside NASA astronauts Reed Wiseman, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, were the first crew to launch aboard NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule. Tensions surged during the final descent due to a known design flaw in the spacecraft’s heat shield, which NASA continues to evaluate and investigate.
“You could see we were surrounded by fire,” Glover described the plasma as they entered the atmosphere. His initial thought was, “Is it supposed to be that large?”
When the hatch opened amidst a splash, Koch expressed feeling “completely overwhelmed.”
“I just screamed with joy,” she recalled. “It was pure elation—an indescribable joy to be home and welcomed by our team.”
Ashley Landis/Associated Press
The Artemis II mission marked numerous milestones. Wiseman, Koch, Glover, and Hansen became the first humans to visually encounter the far side of the Moon and witness a solar eclipse from lunar orbit. They also set a record for the longest distance ever traveled away from Earth.
During their lunar journey, the astronauts captured breathtaking images of the Moon’s cratered landscapes and rugged surface, including spectacular solar eclipses.
“When the sun disappeared behind the moon, I turned to Victor and remarked, ‘I don’t believe humans can truly comprehend what we are witnessing right now; it was like being in another realm,'” Wiseman said at a NASA briefing on Thursday.
Among their high-profile moments was when Hansen informed NASA’s Johnson Space Center mission controllers on April 6 that the crew wished to honor their journey by naming two lunar craters.
The astronauts proposed naming one crater “Integrity,” inspired by their Orion spacecraft, and suggested the second crater be named “Carol,” after Wiseman’s late wife who succumbed to cancer in 2020.
Wiseman stated that the dedication was a collective decision made by the crew, with Hansen bringing the idea to him before the launch.
“He said, ‘The three of us discussed it… We believe we can actually do this with the science team,’ Wiseman shared with NBC News.
“Hearing that was the most beautiful sound I’d ever experienced. She was a remarkable individual, the mother of my two daughters, and no one else on Earth deserves such a thoughtful, caring tribute more than she does,” he expressed.
At a NASA press conference, both Wiseman and Glover revealed that since returning, they’ve been engaged in extensive medical evaluations and debriefings with the Artemis II science team.
“We haven’t had the chance to decompress fully,” Wiseman admitted. “There hasn’t been time for deep reflection.”
Immediately following their splashdown, the astronauts were transported to a U.S. Navy ship for medical checks. There, Wiseman requested a visit from the ship’s chaplain, despite not being religious.
“Upon his arrival, I burst into tears the moment I saw the cross on his collar. I had never encountered him before. It’s challenging to fully grasp what we just experienced,” Wiseman remarked during a NASA briefing.
After covering over 695,000 miles during their mission, all four astronauts expressed their gratitude for being reunited with their families.
“In that moment, there was so much anticipation,” Koch shared with NBC News, recalling how he had been thinking about his family from the mission’s outset.
However, readjusting after returning to Earth took some time.
“For the first few days, I felt like I was floating upon waking up; it was surreal and I had to remind myself I wasn’t,” Koch shared during a NASA briefing.
Initially, the astronauts found themselves sleeping close together behind a curtain in the Navy ship’s medical bay, a strange contrast to their spatial arrangements in orbit.
“I requested for the curtains to be opened, but I fell asleep before it could happen,” Hansen recalled.
The crew had no idea their journeys and personal narratives would garner so much attention during the mission.
“I’ve discussed with my family, and they’ve conveyed to me that there has been an impact,” Koch revealed at a NASA briefing. “When my husband looked at me during a video call and said, ‘You’ve truly changed,’ I felt tears streaming down my face. That was our ultimate goal.”
Source: www.nbcnews.com
