‘Welcome home, Artemis’: Jubilant and emotional, crew speaks out on historic moon mission

ByMary Kekatos, Julia Jacobo, Leah Sarnoff, Ivan Pereira, and Meredith Deliso

Last Updated: April 11, 2026, 3:12 PM MDT

Calling it the "opening act" in America's return to the moon, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman welcomed the Artemis II crew back home after their historic 10-day mission.

"Welcome home, Artemis," Isaacman said, as NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen took to the stage Saturday at the Johnson Space Center in Houston in blue NASA flight suits to cheers and applause.

In emotional remarks, the crew thanked their families, NASA leadership, God -- and each other.

"Victor, Christina, and Jeremy -- we are bonded forever and no one down here is ever going to know what the four of us just went through," Cmdr. Reid Wiseman said. "And it was the most special thing that will ever happen in my life."

Referencing the challenge to their families being 200,000 miles away from home, Wiseman said: "It's a special thing to be a human and it's a special thing to be on planet Earth.

The crew reflected on their lessons of their journey and shared multiple group hugs.