I Went DEEP with the Artemis Astronauts

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]So, I'm sitting right outside the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, just 6 days after the Aremis 2 crew splashed down, and today is their very first news conference since returning to Earth. And of course, I had a million questions, but I could only ask one. And I was actually a little nervous asking the question that I went with because it was not a question that historically had the right stuff. You know, it wasn't a very technical question. And it was a much more human and philosophical one, but it was the question that I wanted to ask the most because throughout this mission, I've been reading this book, uh, The Way of the Explorer by Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell. And so, you know what? I just went for it. Kristen Fischer with the endless void. And welcome home. Uh, it's been such a joy watching how much this mission has gotten people so excited about space. My question's a little bit deep, so bear with me. Um, when Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell was returning from the moon, he had an experience so profound that when he returned to Earth, he devoted the rest of his life to studying the nature of human consciousness. And it's a theme that all four of you touched on to varying degrees at some point during the mission. And so my question is, now that you've been back on Earth for just a few days and had a little bit of time to sit with it, do any of you feel as though you had an experience similar to what Mitchell described, this sense of universal connectedness? And did you experience somehow a a shift in consciousness somehow?

[00:01:43]>> Thanks.

[00:01:44]>> Yes.

[00:01:47]Chris, it's a it's a it's a great question. I I'll just let the only thing I can do is just share one quick story.

[00:01:52]When I got back on the on the ship, um I'm not a I'm not really a religious person, but there was just no other avenue for me to to explain anything or to experience anything. So, I asked for the the chaplain on the Navy ship to just come visit us for a minute. And when that man walked in, I'd never met him before in my life, but I saw the cross on his on his collar and I just I broke down in tears. like the it's very hard to fully grasp what we just went through and in these short you just said it's been a week since we've been back but it's been a week of medical testing physical testing doctors science objectives I like we have not had that decompression we have not had that reflection time so I'm basing this on what we saw and when the when the sun eclipsed behind the moon I think all four of us I I turned to to Victor and I said I don't think humanity has evolved to the point of being able to comprehend what we're looking at right now cuz it is otherworldly and it was amazing.

[00:02:45]>> Um the only thing I would add is that that beautiful first of all thank you for sharing that. That was a really special moment. I was in the bed right across when the chaplain came in and um the only thing I would add is I am a religious person but everything else is the same. Um it it was there is something in there and as we start to process I I'll have to tell you next week but haven't had a chance to really unpack it all yet.

[00:03:12]The other moment that really stood out to me during this news conference was when the astronauts were asked about the likelihood of Artemis 4 actually landing on the moon in 2028. And they were so optimistic about it.

[00:03:24]>> We just went like 250,000 mi away. And I'm telling you right now, if we had a first flight lander on board that thing, I know at least three of my crew mates would have been in it trying to land on the moon. the the jump. When you think about Apollo, Apollo 8 went around the moon. Nine stayed in Leo. 10 almost landed on the moon. And I've talked to a few of those gentlemen in the past and they said if they had enough fuel, they would have done it. It is It's not I'm going to eat these words. It's not the leap I thought it was. Once we're around the moon, we're in the vacuum of space.

[00:03:55]We got a six-off vehicle that's handling great. If you had given us the keys to the lander, we would have taken it down and landed on the moon. It it is not the leap I thought it was. It's going to be extremely technically challenging, but this team needs to show up every day knowing it is absolutely doable and it's it's doable soon.

[00:04:10]>> This mission taught me that the unknown is way scarier than the known. Every single time we accomplished a mission test objective, we all looked at each other and were like, "That actually went pretty well. That was actually not necessarily easy because it took a ton of work, but it was easy to accomplish as a team because we had put in the work. We know how to put in the work to make it accomplishable when the time comes.

[00:04:35]>> We we have to be willing to accept a little more risk than we were willing to accept in the past and to tr trust that we will figure it out in real time.

[00:04:42]We're not going to be able to pound everything flat before we go. We're going to have to trust each other and crews and mission control to work through real problems. And it was very evident to us out there like this went really smoothly, super smoothly. I'm not surprised. Extraordinary team. A lot of work was done in advance, but it was also very clear to us that it could get pretty bumpy.

[00:05:02]>> And uh whoever is going out there to do those things got to understand it could get real bumpy real fast and has to be ready to take that on.

[00:05:10]>> Hearing Reed Weissman say it is doable and soon combined with the success of the Aremis 2 mission. I mean, if that won't get you fired up, I don't know what will. And as I sit here right outside the Johnson Space Center where I grew up, man, it's hard not to get a little emotional because, you know, I grew up right here during the golden age of the shuttle program. I know what that felt like. And I also know what it felt like to be here when the space shuttle program had retired and the United States could no longer launch astronauts into space from US soil for about a decade. And this area, in my humble opinion, really kind of lost its luster. And now being back here, it just feels like it's got its sparkle back.