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April 17, 2026

‘An unbelievable adventure’: Artemis II astronauts share experience in space

Anna Smith

They’ve been around the moon and back, and finally splashed back down to Earth about a week ago. The Artemis II journey was a historic moment for the crew, NASA and the entire U.S.

Millions watched as the Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific last Friday, with Navy crews pulling Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen to safety.

Video of the splashdown shows Navy sailors shouting “welcome home” to the crew as the astronauts were all smiles and cheers.

  • NASA's Artemis II mission astronaut Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen speaks during a press conference at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on April 16, 2026. The four astronauts of Artemis II mission 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. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)
    RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP via Getty Images
  • HOUSTON, TEXAS - APRIL 16: Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman and Pilot Victor Glover laugh during a press conference at the NASA Johnson Space Center on April 16, 2026 in Houston, Texas. Their historic 10-day mission around the moon concluded successfully nearly one week ago. (Photo by Danielle Villasana/Getty Images)
    Danielle Villasana/Getty Images
  • A young boy wears an astronaut costume next to a woman waving a flag as they watch a live broadcast of the return of the Artemis II crew members to Earth at the San Diego Air and Space Museum during a watch party for the crew's splash down in the Pacific Ocean, in San Diego, California, on April 10, 2026. The NASA spacecraft carrying four astronauts splashed down as planned Friday off the California coast, capping the US space agency's successful crewed test mission around the Moon, the first such flyby in more than 50 years. Mission commander Reid Wiseman reported that the crewmembers -- himself along with Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen -- were
    Apu GOMES / AFP via Getty Images
  • AT SEA - APRIL 10: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this handout photo provided by NASA, NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist is assisted off the flight deck after arriving aboard USS John P. Murtha after she and fellow crewmates NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown, Friday, April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. NASA's Artemis II mission took the quartet on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at , NASA and U.S. military teams are working to bring the crewmembers and Orion spacecraft aboard the recovery ship. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
    Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images
  • HOUSTON, TEXAS - APRIL 16: Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman and Pilot Victor Glover high five during a press conference at the NASA Johnson Space Center on April 16, 2026 in Houston, Texas. Their historic 10-day mission around the moon concluded successfully nearly one week ago. (Photo by Danielle Villasana/Getty Images)
    Danielle Villasana/Getty Images
  • (L-R) NASA's Artemis II mission astronauts Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, commander Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover share a hug during a welcoming ceremony at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base in Houston, Texas, on April 11, 2026. An elated NASA late April 10 was celebrating its successful voyage around the Moon, after four astronauts safely returned to Earth having completed the first lunar flyby in more than 50 years. The NASA spacecraft carrying four astronauts -- three Americans and one Canadian -- splashed down without a hitch off the California coast, capping the US space agency's crewed test mission that returned with spectacular images of the Moon. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)
    RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP via Getty Images
  • AT SEA - APRIL 10: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this handout photo provided by NASA, NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, left, and NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist are seen sitting on a Navy MH-60 Seahawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha after they and fellow crewmates CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist, and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander, were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown, Friday, April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. NASA's Artemis II mission took the quartet on a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at 5:07 p.m. PDT (8:07 p.m. EDT), NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams are working to bring the Orion spacecraft aboard the recovery ship. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
    Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images
  • AT SEA - APRIL 10: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this handout photo provided by NASA, NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot is assisted off the flight deck after arriving aboard USS John P. Murtha after he and fellow crewmates NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown, Friday, April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. NASA's Artemis II mission took the quartet on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at , NASA and U.S. military teams are working to bring the crewmembers and Orion spacecraft aboard the recovery ship. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
    Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images
  • HOUSTON, TEXAS - APRIL 16: Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Koch smiles during a press conference at the NASA Johnson Space Center on April 16, 2026 in Houston, Texas. Their historic 10-day mission around the moon concluded successfully nearly one week ago. (Photo by Danielle Villasana/Getty Images)
    Danielle Villasana/Getty Images
  • AT SEA - APRIL 10: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this handout photo provided by NASA, NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, left, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist, talk with NASA Flight Surgeon Richard Scheuring at their Navy MH-60 Seahawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha after they and fellow crewmates NASA Astronauts Victor Glover, and Christina Koch were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown, Friday, April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. NASA's Artemis II mission took the quartet on a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at 5:07 p.m. PDT (8:07 p.m. EDT), NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams are working to bring the Orion spacecraft aboard the recovery ship. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
    Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images
  • AT SEA - APRIL 10: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this handout photo provided by NASA, NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, left, and NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist are seen sitting on a Navy MH-60 Seahawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha after they and fellow crewmates CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist, and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander, were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown, Friday, April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. NASA's Artemis II mission took the quartet on a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at 5:07 p.m. PDT (8:07 p.m. EDT), NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams are working to bring the Orion spacecraft aboard the recovery ship. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
    Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images
  • AT SEA - APRIL 10: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this handout photo provided by NASA, NASA Artemis II crew members Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hansen are hoisted into a U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter after successfully splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, Friday, April 10, 2026. NASA's Artemis II mission took Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at 5:07 p.m. PDT (8:07 p.m. EDT), NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams are working to bring the crewmembers and Orion spacecraft aboard USS John P. Murtha. (Photo by James Blair/NASA via Getty Images)
    James Blair/NASA via Getty Images
  • AT SEA - APRIL 10: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this handout photo provided by NASA, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander is assisted off the flight deck after arriving aboard USS John P. Murtha after he and fellow crewmates wiseman2 were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown, Friday, April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. NASA's Artemis II mission took the quartet on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at , NASA and U.S. military teams are working to bring the crewmembers and Orion spacecraft aboard the recovery ship. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
    Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images
  • IN SPACE - APRIL 07: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) In this handout image provided by NASA, The Artemis II crew – (from left) Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Pilot Victor Glover, and Commander Reid Wiseman – pause for a group photo inside the Orion spacecraft on their way home. Following a swing around the far side of the Moon on April 6, 2026, the crew exited the lunar sphere of influence (the point at which the Moon's gravity has a stronger pull on Orion than the Earth's) on April 7, and are headed back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 10. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images)
    NASA via Getty Images
  • AT SEA - APRIL 10: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this handout photo provided by NASA, NASA's Orion spacecraft with Artemis II crewmembers NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist aboard is seen under parachutes as it lands in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, Friday, April 10, 2026. NASA's Artemis II mission took Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at , NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams are working to bring the crewmembers and Orion spacecraft aboard USS John P. Murtha. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
    Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images
  • HOUSTON, TEXAS - APRIL 16: Artemis II crew, speak during a press conference following their mission orbiting the moon, in Houston, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
    Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
  • AT SEA - APRIL 10: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this handout photo provided by NASA, U.S. Navy divers prepare to deploy in small boats from the well deck of USS John P. Murtha to recover Artemis II crewmembers NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist and NASA's Orion spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, Friday, April 10, 2026. NASA's Artemis II mission took Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. Following a splashdown at , NASA and U.S. military teams are working to bring the crewmembers and Orion spacecraft aboard USS John P. Murtha. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
    Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images
  • IN SPACE - APRIL 06: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) In this handout image provided by NASA, Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater has terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on impact, splashes upwards during the crater’s formation. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images)
    NASA via Getty Images
  • IN SPACE - APRIL 04: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) In this handout image provided by NASA, NASA astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels towards the Moon on April 4, 2026. NASA's Artemis II mission will take Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back aboard their Orion spacecraft. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images)
    NASA via Getty Images
  • (L-R) NASA's Artemis II mission astronauts, commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen pose for a photograph during a press conference at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on April 16, 2026. The four astronauts of Artemis II mission 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. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)
    RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP via Getty Images
  • (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. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)

An unbelievable experience

Now, the Artemis II crew is sharing what that experience was really like, both in space and when returning home.

The crew traveled farther than any astronauts in American history, and they say the experience forged a bond that will last a lifetime.

“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. “And I’ve said it so many times, we are just, we are bonded forever. I mean, that’s the closest four humans can be and not be a family.”

Hansen described the feeling of being in space as “infinitesimally small.”

“We were all kind of struck by these things that make us feel small, and that the sense I had was the sense of fragility and feeling small and infinitesimally small. But yet this very powerful feeling as a human being, like as a group,” Hansen, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, said.

For Koch, two moments stood out. First, seeing Earth from deep space, small and distant as they circled the moon.

“When I go to the beach now, I look up at the blue sky and imagine what it looks like from really, really far away, where it wasn’t an absolute, it wasn’t just a background of everything we see, it was small, compared to the universe around it,” she told CBS News.

And second, the return home. She said the reentry was so intense when the Orion capsule became a blazing fireball, almost impossible to look at as it tore back through the atmosphere.

What comes next for space travel?

Now, NASA shifts to the next step.

Artemis III — set for next year — will keep astronauts in Earth’s orbit as they practice docking the Orion capsule with a commercial lunar lander.

That’s a critical step before any return to the moon.

And after that, Artemis IV, targeting 2028, could put astronauts back on the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17.

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