HOUSTON — President Donald Trump on Monday hailed the courage and grit of NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts after their historic flyby around the moon, a feat that made them the farthest-traveled humans of all time.
The Artemis 2 astronauts — commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch (all of NASA) and Jeremy Hansen of Canada — spent seven hours on Monday (April 6) observing parts of the moon never before seen by human eyes. Their 10-day mission, which began with a launch from Florida atop NASA's mightiest rocket, the Space Launch System, on April 1, is the first human flight to the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972.
"Mr. President, this call is certainly special to all of us … We are doing great things, and we're proud to be a part of it," Wiseman radioed back from over 250,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) away. "We saw sights no human had ever seen before, not even Apollo, and that was amazing for us."
Trump asked the astronauts how they felt when they lost contact with Earth for 40 minutes on the far side of the moon. Glover said he "said a little prayer and then I had to keep rolling" and get back to work on lunar observations.
Trump also asked if any of the crew had anything to say to the American people. Koch opted to share a highlight of coming around the far side of the moon.
"I think one of the biggest highlights was coming back from the far side of the moon and having the first glimpse of the planet Earth again after being out of communication for about 45 minutes," Koch said. "It really just reminds you what a special place we have and how important it is for our nation to lead and not follow in exploring deep space."
During the 12-minute call, Trump cheered the bravery of the Artemis 2 astronauts, hailed his pick for NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman, for taking charge of the U.S. space agency and name-dropped the U.S. Space Force — a military branch he created in his first term — as his "baby."
"Space Force is very much related to what you're doing, and that was my baby. That was a very important one," Trump said. "It turned out to be one of the most important type of decisions I've ever made. So we're very proud. We're very proud of all of you, too."
Trump said that in his first term he faced a decision on whether to close NASA down or revive it. (His first administration did push the Artemis program forward to target a crewed return to the moon, but didn't talk of closing the agency outright.)
Trump also hailed the courage of Hansen, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, whose nation he referred to as a "neighbor" of the United States.
"You have a special person over there, a neighbor," Trump said, adding that he'd spoken to both the Canadian Prime Minister and hockey legend Wayne Gretzky about the astronaut.
Hansen shared how the near and far sides of the moon are very different places and thanked Trump on behalf of Canada for inviting other nations to join the U.S. return to the moon.
"On behalf of Canada, the space leadership you spoke of from America is truly extraordinary," Hansen said. "A nation that leads like that and creates and sets big goals for humanity, that brings other countries along with it, is truly incredible."
At one point, the Artemis 2 crew seemed unable to hear Trump and lost audio contact, leading to an awkward pause in the discussion.
"Can we just get a quick comm check to make sure you guys are still online and we didn't have a handover?" Wiseman said.
"I am," Trump replied, adding that the reception from the moon was "great."
Trump's call to the Artemis 2 crew came just before a question-and-answer session Isaacman held with the astronauts to get their first impressions on the lunar flyby.
"We definitely have to fix some of the plumbing," Isaacman joked, referring to the toilet troubles the crew has reported on their test flight.
"Thank you for your courage and all of your beautiful words that we heard," Isaacman added. "You represent the absolute best of us. We are proud of you, and we look forward to welcoming you back safely to the good Earth very soon. Godspeed, and go Artemis."
Overall, Trump lauded the Artemis 2 astronauts as true modern-day pioneers on a mission that will pave the way for a crewed moon landing, a permanent moon base and the exploration of other worlds.
"We'll establish a permanent presence on the moon, and we'll push on to Mars and be very excited, been waiting for that so much," Trump said. "We will be second to none in space and everything else that we're doing, and we will continue to lead the whole thing into the stars, this incredible journey into the stars."
He invited them all to visit the White House after they get back to Earth.
"This is really big stuff, the whole world was talking about it," Trump said. "And if you have the time, I will certainly find the time."
Glover answered that they'd be sure to visit, adding that it was the "thrill and honor of a lifetime" to be on the mission.
"It's really special for us, but it's really special for the team on the ground, a whole team of people all around the world pulled this off," Glover said. "Today has been amazing, but this three-year journey was amazing and it was made possible by the American people and the Canadian people."
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