Artemis II crew says ‘Amaze! Amaze! Amaze!’ in nod to Project Hail Mary

Dubai: As Artemis II orbited the Moon, a brief exchange between commander Reid Wiseman and Mission Control gave fans of Project Hail Mary an unexpected nod.

“We just realised we have Earth at window four and the Moon at window three, and it gives you the best idea of scale we have had yet,” said commander Reid Wiseman, describing the view from the Orion spacecraft during the lunar flyby.

“The Moon is about three to four times the size of the Earth, and it is almost full, and the Earth is just a small crescent out there. It’s magnificent… such a majestic view out here.”

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Then, from Mission Control, came the reply: “Amaze! Amaze! Amaze! Thank you, Reid.”

For many watching, it clicked instantly, it was a direct reference to Project Hail Mary. In the bestselling sci-fi book turned movie, Rocky, an alien character uses the phrase “Amaze! Amaze! Amaze!” to express excitement and curiosity.

It’s one of the book’s most recognisable lines, and its appearance during a real lunar mission in space quickly made the rounds online. Fans were quick to notice, flooding social media with excitement and fan art imagining Rocky chatting with the Artemis II crew calling it the crossover we didn’t know we needed, but absolutely did.

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The timing of the Artemis II nod was boosted by the recent release of the Project Hail Mary film, starring Ryan Gosling. Fans, already excited by the movie, quickly noticed the reference.

What makes the moment more than just a clever nod is that it wasn’t random. The Artemis II crew, Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen had watched Project Hail Mary together while in pre-launch quarantine. The phrase, then, was likely an inside reference shared between the astronauts and ground teams.