“We loved living on Orion,” said Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist. “In fact, we’ve all said that sometimes you can forget where you really are, because we’re in this little space that gives us everything we need.”
Living in microgravity makes small spaces seem a little cozier. Astronauts can take advantage of every corner of the spacecraft.
“It’s greatest in microgravity, and yes, we crash 100 percent of the time,” Koch said. “A phrase often heard in the cockpit is: ‘Don’t move your foot. I’m going to reach for something that’s right underneath.'”
NASA named the crew members for the Artemis II mission three years ago. Now the astronauts’ names will appear in history books. With Artemis II, the number of living people who have traveled to the vicinity of the Moon has almost doubled. Only five of the 24 men who flew to the Moon are still alive. Four of them walked on its surface.
“I will miss this camaraderie. I will miss being so close to so many people and having a common purpose, a common mission,” Koch said. “This sense of teamwork is something you don’t normally have as an adult. I mean, we’re close, like brothers and sisters, and that’s a privilege we’ll never have again.”
One of the most moving moments of the mission was a tribute to Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll, who died of cancer in 2020. On Monday, as the crew approached the Moon, Hansen radioed the crew’s request to name a crater for Carroll.
“I think when Jeremy spelled Carol’s name, CARROL-L, that’s when I was overcome with emotion,” Wiseman said. “And I looked over and Christina was crying. I put my hand on Jeremy’s hand while he was still talking. I could tell he was shaking, and we all almost collapsed right there. And just for me, personally, that was the highlight of the mission. For me, that was, I think, where the four of us were the most forged, the most united, and we came out of it really focused on the day ahead.”
