Trump calls Artemis II astronauts after their historic journey around the moon

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump spoke with the astronauts of the Artemis II mission hours after their spaceship swung around the far side of the moon and took them farther from Earth than any humans on Monday.

“You’ve made history and made all America really proud,” Trump said, and later acknowledged the contribution of the Canadian member of the mission, Jeremy Hansen.

The call celebrated a step toward ambitious goals Trump had set early in his first term of returning American astronauts to the moon and establishing a long-term base there. He declared in 2017 that “this time, we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprints,” but “establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars.”

It will be years before another crewed Artemis mission is scheduled to land NASA astronauts on the moon. Indeed, Trump acknowledged that future missions, including the new moon landings, may be delayed past the end of his second term.

But Trump projected confidence that “we’re going to be doing a lot of traveling” in space, and “you’re going to ultimately do the whole big trip to Mars.”

The roughly 12-minute call offered a chance for levity and unity for Trump, who had only briefly acknowledged the mission since its launch on April 1. In public appearances and dozens of social media posts in the days since, Trump has focused his attention on the war with Iran.

But in speaking to the astronauts, Trump made no mention of the war or his acrimony toward Canada. (“We like our neighbor,” the president remarked at one point.) The flags of the United States and Canada were prominently featured next to each other inside the Orion spaceship as Trump and Hansen, the Canadian member of the mission, exchanged compliments.

“I spoke to a very special person, Wayne Gretzky, who I think you know, the great one,” Trump said to Hansen. “I spoke to your prime minister and many other friends I have in Canada. They are so proud of you.”

And Trump, who is rarely in the position where he’s asking someone else questions, sounded genuinely curious as he asked the astronauts about their adventure. He appeared particularly interested in what it was like for the astronauts to be cut off from Earth in the brief window in which their ship slipped behind the moon.

Victor Glover, the pilot on the mission, said, “I must say, it was actually quite nice.”

At one point near the end of the call, Trump did not speak for just over a minute, giving the astronauts the impression that the connection may have been lost. The astronauts fussed with their microphone, which was constantly spinning in the capsule, as they waited. Then they asked if the president was still on the line.

“I am, yes,” Trump said, his voice noticeably echoing. “I think we might have gotten cut off.” NASA controllers could be heard laughing in the background.