Trump speaks to Artemis II crew, hails them as 'modern-day pioneers' in historic moon phone call

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  President Donald Trump spoke with the crew of Artemis II as they conducted a historic flight around the moon, marking the first such mission since the Apollo program more than 50 years ago.

Opening the call, Trump said the moment was a milestone for the country.

“Hello, very special hello to Artemis II today. You've made history and made all America really proud, incredibly proud," he began. "We have a lot of things to be proud of lately but this is—there's nothing like what you're doing, circling around the moon for the first time in more than a half a century and breaking the all-time record for the farthest distance from planet Earth. Humans have really never seen anything quite like what you're doing in a manned spacecraft. It's really special.”

He went on to recognize the four-member crew Commander Reed Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, as well as NASA leadership.

Mission milestones and future plans

Trump used the call to highlight the significance of the Artemis program and its long-term goals, including a return to the lunar surface and eventual missions to Mars.

“So you look at—we had no astronaut has been to the moon since the days of Apollo program. The Apollo program was also very special, but that was 50 years ago. And at long last America is back... America is a frontier nation and the four brave astronauts of Artemis II are our modern-day—you really are modern-day pioneers all of you," he said. "Your mission paves the way for America's return to the lunar surface very soon. We're going all out… we'll establish a permanent presence on the moon and we'll push on to Mars. That'll be very exciting.”

Trump also referenced earlier policy decisions regarding NASA and space operations.

“I had a decision to make in my first term and the decision is what are we going to do at NASA? Are we going to have it be revived or are we going to close it down?… it was not even a question in my own mind," he explained. "We've spent what we had to do and then of course we have Space Force… it's turning out—it'll turn out to be truly one of the most important I believe decisions I've ever made.”

Astronauts describe observations from orbit

Responding to the President’s request for details, Commander Wiseman described the visual experience of orbiting the moon and observing previously unseen terrain.

“President, this call is certainly special to all of us," Wiseman said. "As we came around the near side of the moon, seeing all the sites that we've seen from Earth for all of our lives, but we're seeing them from a different perspective. And then we started to get a glimpse of the—and we saw sites… that no human has ever seen before, not even in Apollo, and that was amazing for us.”

He also described a recent celestial alignment observed during the mission, “We just came out of an eclipse where the sun, the moon, and the entire dark moon… we could see the corona of the sun and then we could see the planet train line up and at Mars and all of us commented how excited we are to watch this nation and this planet become a two-planet species.”

Pilot Victor Glover spoke about the experience of re-establishing communication after passing behind the moon.

“Mr. President, to be here with you speaking about our incredible day today, I think one of the biggest highlights was coming back from the far side of the moon and having the first glimpses of planet Earth again after being out of communication for about 45 minutes," he said. "It really just reminds you what a special place we have and how important it is for our nation to lead and not follow in exploring deep space.”

Work during blackout, dark side of the moon, and WH invitation

The astronauts addressed the period when communication with Earth was temporarily lost. Mission specialist Koch described continuing scientific work during that phase.

“Yes Mr President, it was um—I said a little prayer but then I had to keep rolling and I was actually recording scientific observations of the far side of the moon," she said. "We were really able to make some of our most detailed observations… and I must say it was actually quite nice.”

Trump asked, "Did you see a difference, a big difference between the far side of the moon and the near side of the moon? Was there a difference in feel or difference in look? What did you see?"

Hansen discussed the differences between the near and far sides of the moon.

"Well Mr President, we certainly did. And the our [team] really set us up well to understand what they thought we might see," he said. "The gravitational pull of the Earth has had a profound effect on the near side of the moon changing all those dark Maris, those dark patches of the moon you see from Earth. It's very different on the far side while you see some small patches of those mari (dark plains) in deep craters, it's very much absent on that side. So that's really neat. And while I have the microphone sir, I just want to thank you on behalf of Canada… Canadians are so proud to be a part of this program.”

Trump responded by acknowledging Canada’s contribution and referencing conversations with Canadian figures, “Well, I have to say I spoke to a very special person, Wayne Gretzky… and I spoke to your Prime Minister… they are so proud of you… you have a lot of courage doing what you're doing.”

The call concluded with Trump inviting the crew to the White House following the mission.

"I really look forward to when we can—I look forward to seeing you in the Oval Office," he said. "I'll ask for your autograph because I don't really ask for autographs much. But you deserve that, you really are something... I will absolutely find the time and we'll get together and I'm going to be giving you a big salute on behalf of the American people."