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After flying 406,771 kilometres around the moon — the farthest any humans have ever been — Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch are ready to share more of their experiences with the public.
The four astronauts will be taking questions from the media from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, at 2:30 p.m. ET today. CBC.ca will carry the news conference live.
Since returning from Earth last Friday, the four have been examined by doctors and debriefed about their mission, but best of all, they’ve reunited with their families. And they’ve had some great receptions.
Neighbours lined the sidewalks with flags and signs, cheering as Victor Glover returned home in League City, Texas.
Meanwhile, Koch received an emotional greeting from her dog, Sadie.
The four were also greeted on Saturday by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman who introduced the astronauts to hundreds of VIP guests at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base in Houston, including flight directors, Orion capsule and exploration system managers, high-ranking military officers, members of Congress and more.
It was an emotional affair for the crew members who’ve been training together for years and just spent 10 days together in a capsule the size of a small van.
“Victor, Christina and Jeremy. We are bonded forever, and no one down here is ever going to know what the four of us just went through,” Wiseman said after taking the mic. “And it was the most special thing that will ever happen in my life.”
Voice breaking, he continued.
“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,” he said.
“It’s a special thing to be a human, and it’s a special thing to be on planet Earth.”
Back at work
But it hasn’t been all fun and games since their return.
Hansen was put through the grind this week as he donned a lunar spacesuit and walked on a simulated lunar surface.
“This approach takes advantage of the fact that the Artemis II crew is not at full physical capacity since their return on Earth,” the CSA wrote in an Instagram post. “It requires them to perform intense, suit-based tasks, just as they would if they had landed on the moon and started working immediately.”
On Wednesday, Hansen also announced the winner of the Aqualunar Challenge, led by the CSA in partnership with the Privy Council Office’s Impact Canada Initiative, that tasked Canadian companies to develop solutions to purifying water on the moon, a necessity if humans are to make a permanent settlement.
The winner of the $400,000 prize was the Canadian Strategic Missions Corporation, formerly known as the Canadian Space Mining Corporation.
NASA’s Isaacman recently announced that the space agency is looking to speed up the launch cadence of these Artemis missions, with additional plans to build a lunar base. And, while technically it all started with the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022, the humanity of it started with Artemis II.
At the Houston event, Hansen called up his fellow astronauts to join him on the stage as he spoke to the crowd about how much the four had enjoyed contributing to the mission and suggested they were just a part of the larger group that made it all possible.
“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.”
