Thursday April 16, 2026 | HOUSTON, X
by Mary P Brooke | ISland Social Trends
Just six days after the Artemis II crew splashed down from their nearly 10-day mission around the Moon and back, the four astronauts were back in front of the world’s media for another NASA press conference.
Live from Houston, the NASA press conference allowed media from 18 outlets to ask questions of the astronauts in real time.
Some of the questions are still focussing on technical issues (important to future missions) but also still on the impacts of the mission on the crew themselves.
An overall theme in responses from the astronauts were how much it matters to think like and perform as a team. And there was continued mention of the importance of team cooperation and the support of family.
Doing your best is good enough:
Canadian Astronaut Col Jeremy Hansen almost always has the most blunt and forward-thrust messages in his answers to media questions.
Today he reiterated his message about doing the best you can to prepare but then let the mission fly in real time.
The mission was accomplished and ‘good enough’ was achieved, Hansen stated.
In a more serious tone about safety aspects of the Artemis II mission, Hansen said that when the crew lost connection with Earth (occasional Loss of Service/LOS periods depending on what the spacecraft was doing) he” “leaned into what we had”.
“So many amazing things” kept grabbing the crew’s attention, said Hansen. For Hansen, he was struck by “the depth of the galaxy” and that the crew was experiencing something that “had never been experienced before”.
He described the visible stars as “look like you can tell where they are” in 3D, as compared to the view from Earth were all the stars are scattered across the sky.
He described having a “new perspective” on the Mon and Earth, with three-dimensional depth.
As a human, he described the “fragility and feeling infintessimally small” but that it was “a powerful feeling as a group”.
Physical impacts:
So far, none of the crew seem to be exhibiting any negative physical or psychological setbacks as a result of their April 1 to 10 Artemis II journey.
Fellow crew mate Christina Koch said that still when she wakes up she thinks she is floating, and that part of her brain thinks objects will still float in space.
Creative impact:
Hansen says he finds it “refreshing how people have followed the mission and been creative with the mission” in media and social media.
“Our default (as humanity) is to be good and good to one another,” said Hansen. Of all the four crew he seems to have the most ethereal view of things.
Hansen hopes the moon missions will produce “more joy and more hope for our future”.
Safety on board:
Then back to the excitement of operating and being in a spacecraft, Hansen became quite animated when describing how the crew capsule separated from the launcher. “I guess we separated, or we exploded,” were his words but his face was beaming with glee in recounting that moment.
Future missions:
Also with palpable excitement, mission Commander Reid Wiseman said that if there had been a lander available the Artemis II crew would have jumped at the chance to use it and get to the surface of the Moon. That’s a prelude to future missions Artemis II, IV and V which are focused on setting up a colony on the south pole of the Moon by 2028.
Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover today said the Integrity space craft “flew like a dream”, as all the astronauts tipped their hat to the NASA enterprise that makes the technology and safe use of it possible.
Commander Wiseman thanked a fellow named Luiz who has been responsible for studying the heat-impacts of capsule reentry on the Orion capsule from the Artemis I mission, which led to adjustments that made the Artemis II return more likely to go well.
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- NEWS SECTIONS: AEROSPACE | OFF-PLANET | TECHNOLOGY | NASA
- Artemis II astronauts safely home but humanity hungers for more (April 12, 2026)
- Artemis II splashdown, four astronauts home! (April 10, 2026)
- Day 10: Artemis II crew on their way home (April 10, 2026)
- Astronaut Jeremy Hansen on mission funding & just doing your best (April 9, 2026)
- Artemis II: Computers, iPhones & email (April 8, 2026)
- Artemis II crew wakes up Day 8 to ‘Under Pressure’ (April 8, 2026)
- Artemis II: Day 5 tech talk and Easter messages (April 5, 2026)
- Hansen chats with Canadian youth in Sunday morning livestream (April 5, 2026)
- Artemis II from Earth to Moon and back: Day 4 update (April 4, 2026)
- Artemis II crew: burning smell so far not of concern (April 4, 2026)
- Artemis II: Day 3 meals & tech work (April 3, 2026)
- Artemis II: Col Jeremy Hansen says “It was a great burn!” (April 2, 2026)
- Day 2 technology details for Artemis II crew (April 2, 2026)
- Artemis II: troubleshooting some technical things (April 2, 2026)
- Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen heads to the moon (April 1, 2026)
- Artemis Mission Updates (NASA)