Artemis II Astronauts Have Returned to Earth

After their reentry to Earth, the NASA Artemis II team returned safely to the Pacific Ocean at 8:07 p.m. on April 10, completing their nine-day mission. This was indeed the most exciting piece of NASA history that will take place  all year. The opportunity to see the dark side of the moon was a remarkable start to their journey in outer space. As we, the audience, continued to learn more about the moon and their outing, our excitement only further developed and drew us in…

Four astronauts: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, who is the first person of color to travel to the moon, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, who is the first woman to travel to the moon, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, the first non-U.S. citizen to complete a mission of this kind, as a Canadian. As explained by The New York Times, it became remarkable for “Ms. Koch to become the first female on the Artemis mission. She worked as an electrical engineer to develop an instrument for a space science mission at NASA. Also, she worked as a researcher. However, before she joined the mission, there were 7 candidates, including 3 female candidates, before she was selected. In 2013, she was selected as a member of the NASA Astronauts program.” 

Granted with an opportunity, they were in training for three years before taking the mission to the moon. This mission gave astronauts the capability to explore the moon and complete a full orbit around it. Artemis II is the first successful crewed mission to the moon in over 50 years.  Another report by The New York Times stated that “it was the most risky to succeed in circling the moon before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.” In fact, what was most challenging was that there wasn’t any backup for the astronauts to escape from outer space if something was to occur after visiting the moon. NASA and the U.S. military team escorted them to the medical bay on the USS John P. Murtha, which is a Navy recovery ship from post-mission in which they conduct medical evaluations.

The entire world’s attention was drawn towards learning about NASA and about how they spent 10 days in space. Recently, on April 7, President Trump welcomed them back to Earth and mentioned that they made America proud by calling them “modern-pioneers” based on the White House press reports. 

According to BBC News, the Artemis II program was done with the intention of landing humans on the moon for the first time since 1972 by setting a permanent lunar base on the moon. This shows signs of humans being more open to accepting space exploration in the new ways that may be necessary to our future. 

These four astronauts made history and put the hard work into developing teamwork skills that led them to a successful mission. Above all, having support from their family and teammates at NASA really made the Artemis II a spectacle. Having spent six days recuperating, they are contemplating another attempt and imagining the experience of moonwalking. This was their moment to observe the moon and make a home run. 

Editor’s note: the Her Campus at Pace editorial team also contributed to this story.

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