Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen landed at Ellington Field.<\/p>\n
HOUSTON \u2014 The four astronauts of Artemis II mission are back on Earth after a successful journey around the Moon, returning to Houston on Saturday to a warm welcome and emotional reflections.<\/p>\n
Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen landed at Ellington Field, where they spoke publicly for the first time since splashdown.<\/p>\n
They were greeted with a standing ovation, smiling and embracing the moment after completing a mission that took them farther into space than any humans before.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-four hours ago, the Earth was that big out the window,\u201d Wiseman said, gesturing to emphasize the distance. \u201cAnd here we are back at Ellington, at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
The crew balanced humor with heartfelt emotion. Hansen joked about finally being separated from his commander after the long journey, drawing laughter from the crowd.<\/p>\n
But the tone shifted as Wiseman reflected on the personal sacrifices behind the mission, particularly time spent away from loved ones.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore you launch, it feels like the greatest dream on Earth,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd when you\u2019re out there, you just want to get back to your family and friends. It\u2019s a special thing to be human, and it\u2019s a special thing to be on planet Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mission marks a major milestone for NASA, as the crew completed a lunar flyby that officials say will help pave the way for future missions to land astronauts on the Moon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are fortunate to be in this agency, at this time, together,\u201d Glover said.<\/p>\n
Outside the gates, crowds gathered to welcome the astronauts home, underscoring the mission\u2019s impact beyond science and exploration.<\/p>\n
Koch emphasized the sense of unity the journey inspired.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is one thing I know,\u201d she said. \u201cPlanet Earth \u2014 you are a crew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hansen closed with a message about shared purpose, telling the audience the astronauts\u2019 journey reflects something larger.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look up here, you are not looking at us,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are a mirror reflecting you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Artemis II crew\u2019s return signals a renewed step toward humanity\u2019s next chapter in lunar exploration \u2014 and a reminder of the people behind the mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen landed at Ellington…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":245906,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57],"class_list":{"0":"post-245905","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-houston","9":"tag-houston-headlines","10":"tag-houston-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}