The Artemis II astronauts are approaching their final descent to Earth, carrying with them unprecedented data and personal experiences from humanity's farthest journey beyond our planet.
As the Orion spacecraft prepares for splashdown off the coast of San Diego on Friday evening, the four crew members reflected on their historic mission during a final news conference from space. Mission pilot Victor Glover revealed the team holds "all the good stuff"—scientific data, photographs, and stories yet to be shared with the world.
"We have to get back," Glover told reporters. "There's so much data that you've already seen, but all the good stuff is coming back with us. There's so many more pictures, so many more stories."
The mission broke the 54-year-old record for human travel distance on Monday, surpassing Apollo 13's mark of 248,655 miles from Earth. While Orion didn't land on the lunar surface, it completed a critical flyby around the Moon's far side—the hemisphere never visible from Earth.
Commander Reid Wiseman described the mission's most poignant moment: when his crewmates named a lunar crater after his late wife, Carroll, who died of cancer in 2020.
"I think when Jeremy spelled Carroll's name... that is when I was overwhelmed with emotion," Wiseman recalled. "Just for me personally, that was kind of the pinnacle moment of the mission for me."
The astronauts also experienced 40 minutes of complete radio silence during their lunar orbit—a period Wiseman described as filled with both scientific work and personal reflection.
"The four of us took a moment, we shared maple cookies that Jeremy had brought, and we took about three or four minutes, just as a crew to really reflect on where we were," he said.
For Glover, witnessing a solar eclipse from beyond the Moon's far side represented the "greatest gift" of the mission. Astronaut Christina Koch said she'll miss the unique camaraderie of space travel but acknowledged the necessary sacrifices.
"We can't explore deeper unless we are doing a few things that are inconvenient, unless we're making a few sacrifices, unless we're taking a few risks," Koch said. "And those things are all worth it."
Now facing their final challenge—a fiery atmospheric reentry at nearly 25,000 miles per hour followed by Pacific Ocean splashdown—the crew remains focused on delivering their lunar discoveries safely home. As Glover noted, he'll be processing and sharing these experiences "for the rest of my life."