Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen detailed the critical moments they experienced during the mission. Particularly the observation of the invisible side of the Moon and their lack of communication for a while during the mission were the prominent topics of the speech. Trump addressed the team with the words, “Your mission paves the way for the United States to return to the Moon surface.”
“It was fun to be without communication”
One of Trump’s most striking questions was how the astronauts felt when communication was interrupted. Answering this question, Victor Glover stated that the experience was “quite enjoyable.”
A question created a brief silence
There was also an interesting moment during the meeting. There was a brief silence when Trump asked about the differences between the visible side and the dark side of the Moon. While the astronauts had to check whether the connection was lost, these moments caused laughter in the mission control center.
Post-mission technical evaluation
Following the phone call, the Artemis II team held a more technical evaluation meeting with NASA administrator Jared Isaacman. During the meeting, the challenges encountered during the mission, lessons learned for the future Artemis III mission, and the effects of space travel on humans were discussed.
Pilot Victor Glover stated that they took important notes for the next missions; He also drew attention to technical problems regarding baggage management and the health system. NASA management acknowledged that despite the successful mission, improvements needed to be made in some areas.
