Artemis II astronauts still awed by moonshot experience: "It was otherworldly"

Space Artemis II astronauts still awed by moonshot experience: "It was otherworldly" By William Harwood William Harwood CBS News Space Consultant Bill Harwood has been covering the U.S. space program full-time since 1984, first as Cape Canaveral bureau chief for United Press International and now as a consultant for CBS News. Read Full Bio William Harwood April 16, 2026 / 5:43 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Nearly a week back from a voyage around the moon, the four Artemis II astronauts described an almost mystical experience flying over the normally unseen lunar far side, awed by their views of Earth a quarter of a million miles away and equally stunned watching a solar eclipse, they told reporters Thursday.  "I want to thank the world for tuning in for a second and getting hooked on this mission," commander Reid Wiseman said. "When we came home, we were shocked at the global outpouring of support, of pride, of ownership of this mission.""And really, that's what the four of us wanted. We wanted to go out and try to do something that would bring the world together, to unite the world," he said. "I will just wrap that all up with the astronaut's creed, always launch as friends and land as friends." Wiseman said the Artemis II crew launched as friends and landed as best friends. The astronauts blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1. Nine days later, the Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, an epic ending to their historic mission. NASA's Artemis II crew poses for a photo during a news conference on April 16, 2026, in Houston. Ashley Landis / AP Asked Thursday what was the most memorable event during a flight that carried them farther from Earth than any other humans and gave the crew a close-up look at the moon's far side, Wiseman said he and his crewmates — pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — had not yet h...