Artemis Crew Shares Profound Message After Historic Moon Mission

Clear Facts

• The Artemis II crew completed a historic 10-day lunar flyby, setting a new record for the farthest distance traveled by humans in space
• The crew met with U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz at U.N. headquarters in New York following their April 10 splashdown
• NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman highlighted President Trump’s establishment of the Artemis program and Artemis Accords in 2020

The Artemis II crew, fresh from their historic 10-day lunar flyby, spoke with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, describing their journey as a “glorious” experience that connected them with all of humanity. The meeting at U.N. headquarters underscored America’s renewed leadership in space exploration.

The crew — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — returned to Earth on April 10, splashing down off the coast of San Diego. Their journey around the Moon set a new record for the farthest distance traveled by humans in space, surpassing the mark set by Apollo 13 in 1970.

Waltz gifted the crew “MUNGA” hats — “Make the U.N. Great Again” — inspired by President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. The gesture highlighted the administration’s vision for renewed American excellence on the global stage.

When Waltz asked what they thought as they looked back at Earth from space, the astronauts shared deeply moving reflections.

“As a crew, we wanted to go for all and by all. And we wanted to set the stage for Artemis III. We wanted to get this space agency in this world ready for Artemis III and IV. But in the end, we really wanted to connect with humanity. We wanted humanity to just pause for a second and see that this world can still do something exceptionally well when they put their mind to it.”

Artemis III is expected to launch next year, with Artemis IV targeted for the following year. The missions represent America’s commitment to sustained lunar exploration and eventual Mars missions.

“You asked how it felt, and it wasn’t one feeling for the entire mission. What we saw out the window was changing, and that is one of the unique things … I always felt the urge to just be grateful for what we were seeing, and to be grateful for what we were eventually going back to. And the other thing was just how blessed we are to have this.”

Koch said that when she looked back at Earth, the surrounding darkness made the planet feel “even more special than it’s ever been.”

“Instead of this absolute background that just exists everywhere for us, because that’s all we’ve had, it makes the lines that we redraw on it seem big and important. You realize that actually, there’s nothing absolute or guaranteed about this, and that actually, there is such thing as a global scale. And this is the first time I’ve said that at the U.N., but the truth is that the global scale is our world. And what we do with it is our choice.”

Hansen described the experience of seeing the vastness of space and feeling both small as an individual and empowered by what humanity can accomplish together.

“It was like this weird thing where, like stars, some stars look closer in our galaxy than others. And it just kept catching my eye, and it just kept making me feel really tiny, really small as an individual. But then, at the same time, I was out there experiencing it, and it made me feel very powerful as a human race. What we can do together, the fact that we were out there and something that has been really heartwarming since we got back to Earth and started to see how many people stopped to watch the mission and resonate with it.”

Glover also recalled the many emotions tied to the mission, including the “glorious moment” of returning to Earth.

During the visit to the U.N., NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman took a moment to appreciate how far the program had come, noting it was not long ago that President Trump established the Artemis program that led to the Artemis II mission.

“In fact, in just 2020, President Trump established the Artemis Accords. Now, the initial framework was an agreement of principles between the United States and seven other like-minded countries on the responsible exploration of space.”

The crew’s visit to the U.N. came after they met with President Trump at the White House on Wednesday. Trump had also spoken to the crew as they were orbiting the moon in early April, demonstrating his personal engagement with America’s return to space leadership.

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