On April first the Orion rocket took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying, the pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, and Commander Reid Wisemen.

N.A.S.A. Administrator, Jared Issacman said that “Artemis II demonstrated extraordinary skill, courage, and dedication as the crew pushed Orion, SLS (Space Launch System), and human exploration farther than ever before. As the first astronauts to fly this rocket and spacecraft, the crew accepted significant risk in service of the knowledge gained and the future we are determined to build. NASA also acknowledges the contributions of the entire NASA workforce, along with our international partners, whose expertise and commitment were essential to this mission’s success. With Artemis II complete, focus now turns confidently toward assembling Artemis III and preparing to return to the lunar surface, build the base, and never give up the Moon again” (Issacman,Apr 10).

After landing, Glover gave a sermon to people outside of his home while still in his Jumpsuit from the mission. The video of this was posted to TikTok on Sunday, April 12th and has gone viral since being posted.

During the mission, the crew traveled approximately 252,760 miles from earth, which is about 4,105 miles farther than the Apollo 13 mission. When the crew went behind the far side of the moon, they lost communications for 41 minutes. The capsule, named integrity, experienced splashdown just off the coast of San Diego at 8:07pm EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) on April 10th.