‘It’s a special thing to be on Planet Earth’: Artemis crew welcomed home in Houston’

The four astronauts who flew in NASA’s Artemis II mission around the Moon have been welcomed back to Planet Earth at an event in Houston, Texas.

Commander Reid Wiseman said the mission was “the most special thing I ever went through in my life”.

The Artemis II astronauts received a thunderous welcome home Saturday from hundreds who took part in NASA’s lunar comeback that set a record for deep space travel.

The crew of four arrived at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center and Mission Control, flying in from San Diego, where they splashed down just offshore the evening before.

After a quick reunion with their spouses and children, commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen took the hangar stage, surrounded by space center workers and other invited guests. They were introduced by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, among the first to greet them aboard the recovery ship Friday.

“Ladies and gentlemen, your Artemis II crew,” Isaacman said to a standing ovation.

The jubilant crowd included flight directors and the launch director, Orion capsule and exploration system managers, high-ranking military officers, members of Congress, the space agency’s entire blue-suited astronaut corps and even retired ones, and more.

Their homecoming was poignant: They returned to NASA’s Houston base on the 56th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 13, whose “Houston, we’ve had a problem” refrain turned a near-disaster into triumph.

“This was not easy.” an emotional Wiseman said. “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. It’s a special thing to be a human, and it’s a special thing to be on planet Earth.”