Artemis II astronauts reunite with their moonship 3 months after record-breaking flight

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Artemis II astronauts reunited with their capsule Wednesday three months after flying around the moon and traveling deeper into space than anyone in history.

It was their first visit to Kennedy Space Center since they blasted off in April. The last time the four saw the pad, the massive Space Launch System rocket had stood upon it.

“It's a lonely place without that rocket on it,” commander Reid Wiseman said. He and his crew spent the day thanking all those who helped send them on the flight.

The three NASA astronauts and one Canadian set a new record for distance travel during the lunar fly-around — 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers). It was humanity’s first trip to the moon in more than half a century.

Public enthusiasm over the mission is still high, Wiseman noted. While boarding a plane in France about a week ago, he said, a woman handed him her boarding pass with this message written on it: “Thank you for reminding us about joy and hope in the universe again.”

They're excited about handing off to the next Artemis crew: three NASA astronauts and one Italian announced last month. Set for next year, the Artemis III mission will remain in orbit around Earth and practice docking with lunar landers in development by SpaceX and Blue Origin. Artemis IV will follow as early as 2028 with a moon landing by two astronauts not yet identified.

The entire Artemis III crew is male, something that doesn't faze Artemis II's Christina Koch, who became the first woman to fly to the moon. What would be worse, she said, was someone overruling NASA's crew selection for Artemis III just “to make it look a certain way.”

“I am so glad and so proud that that's not the situation we have,” she told reporters.

Wiseman and Koch flew to the moon alongside pilot Victor Glover and Canada's Jeremy Hansen. Hansen announced earlier this week that he will leave the Canadian Space Agency in September, but remain a reservist in the Royal Canadian Air Force and continue supporting the Artemis program.

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