Artemis II astronauts reflect on lunar mission, reunions with loved ones

Astronauts who went on the Artemis II lunar mission reflected on the historic journey Thursday, nearly a week after they returned from the 10-day trip.The group of four astronauts, which included three NASA astronauts and one astronaut from Canada, consisted of Cmdr. Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hansen.
The astronauts blasted off on Wednesday, April 1 and returned Friday, April 10. The mission marked the first crewed journey around the moon in more than 50 years.
“This was an unbelievable adventure, and it was made possible by this crew and the support of each other throughout the whole thing,” Wiseman said at a Thursday news conference. “We are bonded forever. I mean, that’s the closest where humans can be and not be a family, so it was just an amazing adventure. And every single person on that crew lifted each other up the entire time.”
Koch commented on the honor of having the world watch their lunar mission, which did not see humans land on the lunar surface, but the mission did take them further than humans have ever traveled.
“When we come before you now, we’ve done this together,” Koch said. “We took your hearts with us, and your hearts lifted our hearts.” 
All four astronauts received hero welcomes upon their return, with neighbors in Texas lining up in the streets with American flags and balloons to welcome back Glover on Sunday. Hansen celebrated that he returned in time for his 23rd wedding anniversary and Koch shared pictures online of her and her family being reunited.
“Earth crew!” She wrote in a post on Instagram. “Families are on the mission, too. They have the harder job. This hug made my homecoming complete.”
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage. 

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