HANDOUT / AFP
The Artemis astronauts, who have not yet returned to Earth, say they are “blown away” by their lunar journey. (illustrative image)
“The human spirit is not made to go through what we have just experienced.”. These words from Commander Reid Wiseman, on the evening of Wednesday, April 8, say a lot about the state of mind of the four astronauts of the Artemis II mission, on their way back to earth. After taking thousands of photos and providing countless descriptions of the Moon, the members of the team confided that they had great difficulty completing the trip they had just made.
“We have a lot to think about and write in our journals to fully realize what we have just experienced.”insisted Reid Wiseman, with stars in his eyes, during a press conference Wednesday evening more than 280,000 km from the ground. With his American colleagues Christina Koch and Victor Glover and the Canadian Jeremy Hansen, the commander broke a record this week by venturing further into space than anyone before them.
Together, they also made the first tour of our natural satellite in more than half a century, and observed on this occasion a sunset and an Earthrise but also a solar eclipse. “We had seen some great simulations done by our lunar science team, but when it actually happened, it completely blew us all away.”said pilot Victor Glover.
“These are memories that I will keep for the rest of my life.”
“It was one of the greatest gifts of this mission.”he added. And to recognize with a laugh: “I haven’t even begun to process everything we’ve been through yet.â€. “What I can tell you is that it was very intense and that these are memories that I will keep for the rest of my life. I’m going to think about it and talk about it for the rest of my life, that’s for sure.”added the astronaut, who enters the history books as the first black man to have gone to the Moon.
Astonishment also on the part of the astronauts’ families, as Jeremy Hansen’s wife testified to AFP. “He will never see the Moon like before”estimated Catherine Hansen, who has been living to the rhythm of the Artémis II mission since April 1. “When I look at the Moon, it looks different now.”slipped this Canadian obstetrician-gynecologist before continuing: “It’s amazing to know they were so closeâ€.
