Artemis II’s moon-traveling astronauts return home to cheers after a record-breaking trip

In this photo provided by NASA, from left, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Christina Koch, mission specialist; CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist; and NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, right, pose for a group photo after viewing the Orion spacecraft in the well deck of USS John P. Murtha, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP) 2026-04-11T20:50:17Z Houston (AP) — Still marveling over their moon mission , the Artemis II astronauts received a thunderous welcome home Saturday from hundreds who took part in NASA’s lunar comeback that set a record for deep space travel. The crew of four arrived at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center and Mission Control, flying in from San Diego where they splashed down just offshore the evening before. After a quick reunion with their spouses and children, the astronauts took the hangar stage, surrounded by space center workers and other invited guests. The crowd included NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, flight directors and the launch director, Orion capsule and exploration system managers, high-ranking military officers, the space agency’s entire blue-suited astronaut corps and even retired ones, and more. “Welcome home Artemis II,” Isaacman announced. Commander Reid Wiseman and his U.S.-Canadian crew’s homecoming was poignant: They returned to their Houston home base on the 56th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 13 , whose “Houston, we’ve had a problem” refrain turned a near-disaster into triumph. During Artemis II’s nearly 10-day mission, they voyaged deeper into space than the moon explorers of decades past and captured views of the lunar far side never witnessed before by human eyes. A total solar eclipse added to the cosmic wonder. On their record-breaking flyby, the astronauts reached a maximum 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth before hanging a U-turn behind the moon, eclipsing Apollo’s 13 distance record. (