The crew of Artemis II returned to a hero's welcome in Houston after completing a record-breaking deep space mission that took humans farther from Earth than any spacecraft since the Apollo era.
The four astronauts (Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen) arrived at Ellington Field near NASA's Johnson Space Center after splashing down off the coast of San Diego, where they concluded their nearly 10-day journey around the Moon.
Speaking at the welcome event, the crew reflected on the emotional and psychological impact of seeing Earth from deep space. Christina Koch described the planet as "this lifeboat hanging in the universe."
During the mission, the spacecraft reached a maximum distance of more than 400,000 km from Earth (surpassing the Apollo 13 record) and provided unprecedented views of the Moon's far side and a rare total solar eclipse from deep space.
The mission is a key milestone in NASA's broader Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface in the coming years and eventually establish a sustained presence on the Moon. Future missions are expected to include lunar landing tests and orbital docking exercises as preparation for long-term exploration.
As for the welcome event, you can watch it below:
<social>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYY4nnfxKbU</social>