'It's a special thing to be on Planet Earth': Artemis crew receive heroes' welcome after historic moon mission
The Artemis II crew created history after successfully completing a test flight around the Moon
The four crew of the Artemis Two lunar mission have been given a heroes' welcome during a new conference in Houston less that 24 hours after successfully landing back down to Earth.
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Cheers erupted from the crew’s families watching in Mission Control when the capsule emerged from the communication blackout at splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, following 10 days in space.
Their voyage took them further from Earth than any humans in history.
The crew - which included Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen - were all reunited with their families on Saturday.
Commander Reid Wiseman said the mission was "the most special thing I ever went through in my life".
The astronauts arrived on Saturday at Ellington Field at Johnson Space Center in Houston to cheers and a standing ovation, with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman calling the mission “the greatest adventure in human history.”
“Victor, Christina and Jeremy, we are, we are bonded forever, and no one down here is ever going to know what the four of us just went through,” continued Wiseman.
“And it was the most special thing that will ever happen in my life.”
He added that it "was not easy" being over 200,000 miles away from home, and said it was "the greatest dream on earth" to go to space.
Visibly choked up, Wiseman concluded his speech saying: "It’s a special thing to be a human and it’s a special thing to be on planet Earth.”
Read more: That's nuts: Artemis II carried jar of Nutella into space at a cost of almost £57,000
Victor Glover, the pilot of Artemis II, admitted he has not fully processed “what we just did” yet, but was full of gratitude, thanking God for the opportunity and the experience.
Fellow astronaut Christina Koch added that her nurse on the Navy recovery ship asked her for a hug after landing, calling it one of many great “human moments” that began and ended the mission.
She added that Artemis II truly taught her the meaning of what it is to be part of a crew.
"I know I haven’t learned everything that this journey has yet to teach me, but there’s one new thing I know, and that is planet Earth: You are a crew.”
Astronaut Jeremy Hansen also noted that the experience has been extraordinary, and was pleased that people on earth had been closely following the mission.
"What we’ve been hearing is that was something special for you to witness.
"I would suggest to you that when you look up here, you’re not looking at us. We are a mirror reflecting you, and if you like what you see, then just look a little deeper. This is you," he said.
Using the Moon’s gravity for a “free” return journey, it took the crew four days to get back to Earth after travelling to the far side of the moon.
This normal stage of re-entry meant the crew were unable to contact mission control for six minutes as the Orion capsule hurtled through the Earth's atmospher.
"We have you loud and clear," Commander Reid Wiseman confirmed after re-establishing contact with mission control.
More than an hour after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, the four crew members emerged from the capsule ahead of being taken to the nearby naval ship USS John P Murtha by helicopter.
Refusing the wheelchairs offered to them, the astronauts walked across the deck and underwent initial medical checks on board.
