Astronauts say they’re coming to grips with the scope of their missionpublished at 19:53 BST

19:53 BST

(L-R) NASA's Artemis II mission astronauts, commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen attend a press conference at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on April 16, 2026. The astronauts did the first slingshot around the Moon in more than 50 years and traveled deeper into space than any humans before, culminating in a smooth splashdown on April 10 off the coast of California.Image source, AFP via Getty

The Artemis II mission touched millions of people on Earth, many of whom tuned in to watch the mission’s launch and splashdown.

A reporter tells a story about his four-year-old daughter, who he says was entranced by the videos and photos of the mission, and asks if the astronauts are coming to grips with the scope of what they did.

Artemis II pilot Victor Glover says he has been trying to “live in a little hole” for the week since splashdown, but it is “hard” now.

“We did what we said we were going to do and now we’ve got to step out and just face that reality,” he says.

Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen reflects on the moment the flight lost connection with ground crew as it hurtled back toward Earth.

“We didn’t have that connection with you, we lost that connection with earth,” he says. “We just leaned into what we had, we leaned into each other and mission control which was really all we had and our families a couple times.”

Mission Specialist Christina Koch says she doesn’t like attention, but her husband had a conversation with her brothers and sisters about “who’s going to tell her” about the impact of the mission.