Artemis II astronauts speaking about their historic trip around the moon

cynthia II astronauts use up questions almost historical lunar mission

Key moments from Artemis II's mission, from launch to splashdown

Artemis II successfully returns to Earth

Artemis II crew exit capsule after returning to Earth

Artemis II mission breaks record set by Apollo 13

'We are a mirror reflecting you’: Jeremy Hansen

The weird stuff space does to the human body

NASA looks ahead to Artemis III after successful lunar mission

The astronauts came out and sat at the table three minutes before the broadcast started.

They did their mic checks, and then Reid said, “Jeremy just asked me to get the crowd fired up.”

So we all cheered and clapped.

I ran into a few interesting folks from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

There's Rene Pelletier, a sports medicine osteopath consulting with the CSA, Yannick Laflamme, a CSA exercise specialist and finally, Natalie Hirsch, lead for exercise and nutrition support.

All of them are working hard to ensure Jeremy Hansen’s transition from a space environment back to an Earth environment goes smoothly.

Hirsch said that it’s going well, as it was a short mission and the effects of microgravity aren’t as significant as they see with a long-duration mission.

Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman revealed on X that he was supposed to leave Rise, the adorable plush toy mascot, aboard the Integrity but couldn't part with it. 

"That was not something I was going to do," he wrote in response to some who pointed out that Wiseman was carrying Rise along with him aboard the USS John P. Murtha last Friday after their successful splashdown. 

"I stuffed that little guy in a dry bag we had in our survival kit and hooked the bag onto my pressure suit."

In a later post, Wiseman said Rise is currently tethered to his water bottle. 

The plushie accompanied the astronauts on their lunar mission not only for moral support but as a zero gravity indicator. Rise was based on the winning design by an eight-year-old named Lucas from Mountain View, Calif., as part of an international competition. 

PS- it’s hard not to love this little guy. I cant let Rise out of my sight…currently tethered to my water bottle. <a href="https://t.co/U8UZYUVQiy">pic.twitter.com/U8UZYUVQiy</a>

Koch got a pawsome welcome home from her dog, Sadie, when she returned from her historic mission.

In a video posted to Koch's Instagram page on Monday, Sadie excitedly paws at the door when they spot Koch approaching. When Koch opens the door, Sadie jumps up on Koch while wagging their tail with excitement. 

"I’m still pretty sure I was the happier side of this reunion," Koch wrote in the post.

"Sadie taught me everything I needed to know about being an emotional support animal. Didn’t expect that would come in handy."

'We are a mirror reflecting you’: Jeremy Hansen

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen shared a moment on stage with the rest of the astronauts from the Artemis II crew as they spoke for the first time since making it home safely after a historic trip around the moon.

The astronauts received a standing ovation when they took the stage in Houston on Saturday, where the crew members, including Hansen, made their first public comments since splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

"What you saw was a group of people who loved contributing," Hansen said while flanked by his crew members. 

"I would suggest to you that when you look up here, you're not looking at us, we are a mirror reflecting you." 

I’m here in Houston for the first press conference since the Artemis II astronauts returned from their trip around the moon.

The astronauts will be speaking from the Teague Auditorium at the Johnson Space Center.

It’s a bit early, but some journalists are starting to arrive while the NASA folks prep the stage.

There are also some cool memorials and relics from NASA’s history, from its earliest beginnings of Project Mercury, Project Gemini, Apollo and more.

NASA looks ahead to Artemis III after successful lunar mission

As Artemis II astronauts readjust to life after their successful lunar mission, NASA is now looking forward to the Artemis III mission which will focus on docking tests with privately-built spacecraft. Then comes the Artemis IV mission to return to the moon's surface.

The four crew members from Artemis II are holding a news conference to speak about their mission around the moon this afternoon. Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are taking questions at 2:30 p.m. ET from Houston, where NASA has said they are "undergoing standard post-flight reconditioning, evaluations and lunar science debriefs."

The Orion capsule and its four-member crew hurtled back into Earth's atmosphere and splashed safely down off the coast of California last week after nearly 10 days in space, bringing a textbook end to humankind's first trip to the moon in more than 50 years.

The mission sent humans farther from Earth than ever before. It was also the first crewed flight of NASA's multibillion-dollar Artemis program, testing survival systems for later missions the administration hopes will send astronauts back to the lunar surface by 2028.

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