‘Proud’ Trump congratulates ‘very talented’ Artemis II crew for perfect landing — ‘Next step, Mars!’

“Proud” US President Donald Trump congratulated the “very talented” 4-member crew of NASA's Artemis II mission, who safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, local time, after spending nearly 10 days in space, capping the first voyage by humans to the Moon in more than 50 years.

Trump said he “could not be more proud” and invited them to the White House.

“Congratulations to the Great and Very Talented Crew of Artemis II. The entire trip was spectacular, the landing was perfect,” the US president wrote in the social media post. “As President of the United States, I could not be more proud! I look forward to seeing you all at the White House soon.”

This was the debut crewed test flight in a series of Artemis missions that aim to return astronauts to the lunar surface starting in 2028. The ultimate goal of the Artemis program is to establish a long-term presence on the moon as a stepping stone to eventual human exploration of Mars.

Thus, Trump said that after another successful manned trip to the Moon, the space agency's next big step would be to Mars. “We’ll be doing it again and then, next step, Mars!” he wrote.

The Orion spacecraft carried out a “perfect descent” and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 5.37 am IST on 11 April (5.07 pm PT on 10 April), concluding NASA's historic mission concluded its monumental 10-day lunar voyage.

The overall mission time was nine days, one hour, 32 minutes, and 15 seconds.

The crew, mission commander Reid Wiseman said, was in excellent condition following the splashdown.

About the “very talented” crew

The “very talented” crew made history for being the most diverse lunar crew ever, with the first woman, a person of colour, and a non-US citizen riding in NASA's new Orion capsule.

Veteran naval aviator Reid Wiseman led the mission as commander, joined by US Navy captain Victor Glover, who served as pilot and became the first Black astronaut assigned to a lunar mission.

NASA's Christina Hammock Koch, who holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, served as a mission specialist and officially became the first woman to fly to the Moon.

Joining the trio was former fighter pilot Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency, who became the first non-American ever to leave low Earth orbit.

They also became the first astronauts to fly in the vicinity of Earth's only natural satellite since the Apollo program of the 1960s and '70s.

How is Artemis II a stepping stone to Mars?

Despite being a lunar flyby, Artemis II was not a repeat of the 1968 Apollo 8 mission, but rather served as a stepping stone for the future of human space exploration.

The successful demonstration of systems capable of supporting human spaceflight is an absolute prerequisite for any deep space aspirations, and Artemis II's success paved the way for NASA's Artemis III mission in 2028, which aims to land astronauts near the lunar south pole, and the ultimate leap: crewed missions to the Red Planet, Mars.