Trump welcomes Artemis 2 crew after record-breaking historic Moon mission

President Trump hosted the four Artemis 2 astronauts and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman for a press event on April 29. The gathering celebrated the crew’s successful mission, which launched on April 1 and splashed down on April 10. 

This crew remains the first group of humans to leave Earth orbit since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. 

During their journey around the Moon, the astronauts traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history, surpassing the record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. Trump personally congratulated the NASA chief, remarking that picking him for the top job was a “great choice.”

“You heard that question with those beautiful ears of yours,” Trump said to Isaacman. “He's got great hearing, you know — he's got super hearing."

“Trick of the trade, sir," replied Isaacman, who has sportingly acknowledged his larger-than-average ears in the past. He then answered the question.

“We have a lot of people very interested in our mission,” Isaacman said. “So, being here in D.C. gives us the opportunity to kind of interact with all our stakeholders, make sure we make the right decisions for the nation.”

Trump nominated Isaacman in January 2025, following an initial announcement in November. During that event, Trump faced intriguing questions about whether NASA could land humans on the moon before the end of his term. 

He was also brought up by the US Space Force-which he established during his first administration-stating it would become one of the most important military branches. 

Furthermore, he claimed the Biden administration had abolished the Space Force, despite the White House reaffirming its commitment to the branch shortly after taking office in 2021.

We got involved with NASA, bringing it back,” he said, then turned to Isaacman. “When I first looked at some of your facilities, they had grass growing on the runways, right in between the cracks of the asphalt. But not anymore. It's really strong.”

In addition, reporters asked about the White House’s 2027 federal budget, which proposes a 23% cut to NASA’s overall funding while reallocating resources to increase science funding by 47%. 

The mission was remarkable; during the flyby, the astronauts spent more than six hours documenting the far side of the Moon- a region previously seen only by robotic missions.