The Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, sending four astronauts on a historic 10-day mission around the moon and giving them spectacular views along the way. A day after liftoff, ABC News’ Gio Benitez spoke with Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen from their Orion spacecraft about the journey so far and what lies ahead.
Commander Reid Wiseman described the crew’s view of Earth Thursday: “I don’t know what we all expected to see … but you could see the entire globe, from pole to pole.” He said the crew could see Africa and Europe and even the northern lights, a sight that “paused all four of us in our tracks.”
This flight marks the first time humans have flown beyond low-Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. The crew will travel roughly 685,000 miles on a lunar flyby aboard the Orion spacecraft.
The launch Wednesday was visible around the world as the crew lifted off at 6:35 p.m. ET from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, a mission specialist, said that even though the launch was expected, the moment the boosters ignited and the vehicle left the pad brought “a moment of disbelief,” and left him “with a huge smile across my face.”
Koch, who holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman at 328 days, addressed a reported issue with the Orion capsule’s toilet, the Universal Waste Management System. Crew members saw a blinking fault light during tests, but the problem was resolved. “I’m proud to call myself the space plumber,” Koch said. “I like to say that it is probably the most important piece of equipment on board.” She added that the crew sighed with relief when the system proved fine.
Pilot Victor Glover, who will be the first person of color to travel to the moon, reflected on how Earth appears from high orbit. “Trust us, you look amazing, you look beautiful,” he said of the planet. “You also look like one thing. Homo sapiens is all of us, no matter where you’re from or what you look like. We’re all one people.” He noted that moonshot efforts bring people together and show what can be accomplished when differences are combined rather than divided.
Before speaking with ABC News, the crew completed a critical mission milestone: the translunar injection burn that placed Orion on a trajectory toward the moon. Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator at NASA, called the burn “flawless,” and said, “From this point forward, the laws of orbital mechanics are going to carry our crew to the moon, around the far side and back to Earth.”