Obama honors NASA's Artemis II astronauts after record-breaking lunar mission

Former US President Barack Obama has praised the remarkable performance of the crew of the Artemis II crew mission following the successful completion of their historic deep space journey. Sharing a statement on April 11, 2026, the 64-year-old praised the astronauts for their courage and achievement after completing a successful 10-day mission beyond low-Earth orbit.

He said in a heartfelt message: “What the Artemis II astronauts did over the last 10 days was a testament to their bravery. And the fact they traveled farther from Earth than anyone ever has, re-entered our atmosphere at more than 24,000 mph, and splashed down safely was a testament to human ingenuity..”

The landmark mission serves as a significant testbed for NASA’s long-term goals. Once the 10-day journey concludes with a Pacific Ocean splashdown, the data gathered will pave the way for a permanent human presence on the Moon and future crewed missions to Mars, while providing the world with historic glimpses of deep space. It is the first crewed flight to travel beyond low-Earth orbit in more than 50 years.

The mission successfully launched on April 1 by using the Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Center, the mission covered approximately 694,481 miles. During the journey, the spacecraft reached a record distance of 252, 756 miles from Earth during a lunar flyby, outpacing the benchmark set by the Apollo 13 mission in 1970. A wide range of critical tests were conducted and performed experiments on deep-space radiation and microgravity. The crew also captured thousands of images of the Moon and Earth, providing crucial data for subsequent projects.

Artemis II astronauts continue their journey back to Earth after conducting a historic lunar flyby and witnessing a total solar eclipse from their spacecraft. As the journey continued, the spacecraft reached its maximum distance from Earth: 252,756 miles (406,771km) during the lunar fly-by. The incredible success of Artemis II laid the groundwork for the Artemis III mission, scheduled for 2027, which aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon and pave the way for future missions to Mars.