Artemis II crew caps historic lunar flyby with call from Trump

by · UPI

April 7 (UPI) -- The four-astronaut Artemis II crew was heading home early Tuesday on the final leg of its 10-day voyage after completing a historic lunar flyby capped by a phone call from President Donald Trump.

Trump spoke with the Orion crew Monday night after the spacecraft completed its seven-hour lunar observation period and began its return to Earth.

"Today, you've made history and made all of America really proud, incredibly proud," Trump told NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen as they floated in the Orion capsule.

Day six of the mission saw the crew complete the seven-hour lunar flyby -- the first since 1972 -- at 9:35 p.m. EDT, hours after their spacecraft had reached 252,756 miles from Earth, the farthest humans have ever traveled from the planet.

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"There's nothing like what you're doing, circling around the moon for the first time in more than half a century and breaking the all-time record for the farthest distance from planet Earth -- humans have never seen anything quite like what you're doing," the president said, thanking each astronaut individually, including Hansen, calling them "modern pioneers."

"America is back. And America is back in many ways stronger than ever before. We're the hottest country anywhere in the world."

To Trump's question about what the most memorable part of the trip was, Commander Wiseman said it was seeing parts of the moon during the lunar observation period that no man has ever laid eyes upon.

"That was amazing for us," he said.

But the surprise of the day was seeing a solar eclipse during which Orion, the moon and the sun aligned.

"All of us commented how excited we are to watch this nation and this planet become a two-planet species," he said.

Answering a question about differences between the moon's near and far sides, Hansen said Earth's gravity has had a significant effect on the near side of the moon, which bears dark, flat plains and deep craters, while the far side largely lacks those features.

The Canadian then thanked Trump for his leadership in space and for inviting other countries to share their gifts in achieving mutually beneficial goals.

"They are so proud of you," Trump told Hansen, stating he had spoken with hockey great Wayne Gretzky, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and other Canadians.

"You have a lot of courage, what you're doing, a lot of bravery, a lot of genius, but they're very, very proud of you."

The spacecraft is expected to exit the lunar sphere of influence, meaning the moon's gravitational pull on Orion is no longer stronger than the gravitational pull of Earth, at about 1:25 p.m. Tuesday.

The astronauts' return to Earth is scheduled for shortly after 8 p.m. Friday with a splashdown off the coast of San Diego.