Artemis II crewmates Victor Glover, left, and Christina Koch became the first Black person and woman to leave low-Earth orbit during their historic spaceflight, which returned on April 10, 2026. - NASA / Bill Ingalls Astronauts from NASA's first crewed Artemis flight largely sidestepped a question about the diversity of the future astronauts assigned to the upcoming moon-landing mission.

"We came in fast, and we came in hot," Artemis II mission commander Reid Wiseman told reporters in the crew's first press conference since returning to Earth.

Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen told reporters in late April 2026 that Orion’s heat shield held up well during their return from lunar orbit,

Now that the Artemis II astronauts are safely home from their moon mission, NASA is investigating how well its spacecraft's heat shield protected the crew during their return.

Welcome to Edition 8.37 of the Rocket Report! NASA is still climbing down from the high of the Artemis II mission, the first flight by humans to the Moon since 1972. What a mission it was! Now, attention turns to completing development of a lander to get astronauts down to the Moon’s surface.

Newly released footage shows The Artemis II crew being rescued from the Orion capsule "Integrity" after splashing down in the water.

The four crew members gave their first press conference since they splashed down nearly a week ago, and emphasised hope and unity.

NASA again set the stage to welcome the Artemis II astronauts back to their home base in Houston. The scene wasn’t quite as glossy as NASA’s crew announcement in 2023, and it didn’t need to be. This event had more gravitas. NASA let the achievement make the noise.