Artemis II crew delivers inspiring message in first address since historic Nasa Moon mission launch

Peter Stevens
Fri, 03 Apr 2026 05:45:45 +0000

The pilot of Artemis II has said humanity should unite as "one people" during the Nasa mission crew's first press conference from space.

Nasa's Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen responded to questions while floating around the Orion crew capsule.

Asked for a message for those back on Earth, Mr Glover said: "Trust us, you look amazing, you look beautiful, and from up here you look like one thing.

"Homosapiens are all of us, no matter where you're from or what you look like, we're all one people."

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The Artemis II mission is happening against the backdrop of deepening political divisions in the US and criticism that money spent on space exploration could be used for issues on Earth.

In response to a question about divides within the US, Mr Glover added: "We call amazing things that people do 'moonshots' for a reason.

"This mission has shown us what we can do when we, not just put our differences aside, but when we bring our differences together to accomplish something great.

"It has given us [something] we all can hold on to for the rest of our days. And I hope people will tune in and give us a chance."

Reflecting on the launch, commander Mr Wiseman said: "Sending four humans 250,000 miles away is a Herculean effort, and we are now just realising the gravity of that."

In the press conference, the four astronauts gave updates on the progress of their mission so far.

The four shared they had just ate their first meal together, showing "how busy we've been the last day and a half".

And Mr Hansen - who became the first Canadian in space - described being on space as "really fun".

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He said: "The views are extraordinary - it's really fun to be floating around, and it makes me feel like a little kid."

The launch of Artemis II was at points in limbo after two separate problems occurred, both within the hour before the launch.

But the most noteworthy problem while in space was with the toilet, which broke hours after launch.

Mrs Koch - the mission's sole female astronaut - was responsible for fixing the Universal Waste Management System fan.

She said all problems with the loo were now resolved and added: "I like to say that [the plunger] is the most important piece of equipment in space."

The four were joined in the press conference by mascot and zero gravity indicator "Rise", designed by eight-year-old Lucas Ye, from Mountain View, California.

The press conference was held after Artemis II did a "trans-lunar injection burn", dubbed by some as the point of no return.

Artemis II's crew has now exited Earth's orbit - the first to do so since Apollo 17 in 1972 - and are now on track to the Moon.

There are eight more days left on the mission, and they are expected to orbit the moon on April 6 before their return to Earth.