GoKawiilThe four Artemis II astronauts inside of the Orion capsule before they spoke to US President Donald Trump, after the Moon fly-by.Credit: NASA
Updated 6 April 2026, 10.05 p.m. CDT (Houston time)
The astronauts spoke over a phone link with US President Donald Trump on their way back from the Moon. Continuing a tradition that stems back to President Richard Nixon calling Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface in 1969, Trump congratulated the Artemis II crew for their successful mission so far. “You really are modern-day pioneers, all of you,” he told the astronauts.
Trump asked how the far side of the Moon looked, and how it felt to be out of touch with the rest of humanity. Wiseman talked about the low lighting on the lunar far side, and how they saw the Sun, Moon and planets lined up during the eclipse they witnessed. Glover said they were busy working while they were out of communication, “and I must say it was actually quite nice”.
“You have a lot of courage doing what you’re doing,” Trump told the crew. “A lot of bravery.”
This wraps our coverage of the Artemis II Moon flyby. Stay tuned to nature.com/news, and Nature’s social media channels, for ongoing coverage of the mission.
Updated 6 April 2026, 8.34 p.m. CDT (Houston time)
The lunar fly-by is nearly over. So what’s next for the Artemis II mission?
Tomorrow morning the astronauts will meet (virtually!) with the mission’s science team to talk about some of the observations they made of the Moon’s far side. Then they will spend the next three days flying back to Earth.
On Friday 10 April they will return to our planet in spectacular fashion. The Orion capsule will separate from the service module that has provided it with power and propulsion during its journey. As it enters Earth’s atmosphere it will begin to heat up and slow down. (There is some debate about how well the heat shield will protect the capsule as it travels through scorching temperatures, although NASA seems confident it will survive just fine.) The capsule will unfurl a series of parachutes to slow it down even more, and ultimately Orion will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
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