The Artemis II Crew Share with Oprah the Wisdom of Leaving Earth

Hi, everybody on the planet Earth.

It's such an exciting day around here in my backyard.You know, I remember just being 15 years old and I was watching the first moon landing.and hearing Neil Armstrong say, that's one small step for man.And at the time, I couldn't even believe it.I remember standing in my aunt's house, and they're like, are they really on the moon?I don't know.

Are they really on the moon?Yes, they were on the moon.So now, over five decades later, the Artemis II astronauts have returned to Earth after making their own history.Here's a quick look at that remarkable, remarkable journey.

For the first time in nearly 54 years, the Artemis 2 crew is go for launch.

Four, three, two, one.The world held its breath.Booster ignition and lift off.As NASA launched four astronauts into space to complete a first -of -its -kind test mission to the moon.The crew of Artemis 2 now bound for the moon.The crew of Artemis II included American astronauts Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Cook, and Canadian Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen.

This is Jeremy.We are going for all humanity.They spent more than nine days inside a spacecraft named Integrity.Using gravity to slingshot around the far side of the moon, Integrity reached 252 ,756 miles from Earth, the greatest distance ever traveled into space by human beings.

Artemis crew captured the world's attention.I don't think humanity has evolved to the point of being able to comprehend what we are looking at right now, because it was otherworldly.It was amazing.

Not only for their awe -inspiring courage going to the far side of the moon and back.

What struck me wasn't necessarily just Earth.It was all the blackness around it.Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbingly in the universe.

But also for the unique perspective they shared, a message of unity and hope.

The purpose of humanity is joy and lifting one another up, creating together.

This is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe.You have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together.

Oh.I am just, the word honor doesn't even say enough, but I am so honored to be able to welcome you all to my backyard.Thank you.Thank you so much.The Artemis II crew, you all know them by name now.Commander Reed Weissman, pilot Victor Glover.

Mission Specialist Christina Koch and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen.It is a joy.I love that statement that humanity not being able to actually comprehend what you all saw and experienced.And I'm wondering, now that you're back down to Earth in gravity, whether the comprehension has become more real for you.Does it get more real every day, or is it still something that happened out there?

I actually, maybe it's getting less real every day.day, Oprah.It has not gotten more real for me. I go back and look at, we all did a lot of journaling while we were up there.And we're just starting to dig into those journals and really read through them.And it just, I just cannot believe we went and did this.I can't believe that the world trusted us to go do this, and then the world followed along.

It's like, it is the greatest honor.

And every time you see the tape, as you were rolling the tape leading into this episode, I could see you're still looking at it like, that actually happened, right?

I got to fly with Christina, Victor, and Jeremy.We're just the best friends.

So I heard you started out as friends and then became best friends.Is that what happened?

Absolutely.And I think we have a lot to thank our commander for because he set out that purpose from the beginning that our ultimate goal was to come back as best friends.And it really set the tone for how we showed up for each other, how we handled our team cohesion intentionally.We worked on it.And I'm really happy with where we ended up.

But I want to get back to that question.Victor, do you feel grounded yet?Has the impact of what happened out there including all of the press reaction from the rest of the world and our impressions of you.Has that landed with you yet?

Hearing that question come from you, I can easily say no, it has not.It's still pretty unreal.I spent the two weeks right after we got back when we were focusing on science collection and reconditioning, going to the gym.making sure that we were all healthy.And I wasn't watching the news.I wasn't online.

And then we started the media tour last week.And it's just been amazing.I think we set out trying to do something meaningful.And I think we are now seeing we maybe did OK.And the reaction is, it is unreal.It's what Reed said earlier.

It's hard to put it in context.And sitting here in your backyard, it makes it seem even more unreal.

Well, this is not often.I'm having an out -of -body experience, but yes.So I want to know, what has moved you the most about the world's reaction?What has moved you the most about the world's reaction to this journey?Because I think, you know, that every single person who experienced watching you all do that was moved inside in a way that not even we expected.So what has moved you, Jeremy?

It's so heartwarming for all of us in that people just paid attention to something that was positive, collaborative.And for me, it's just such a sigh.We so needed it.Absolutely.It was a sigh of relief that we don't want to just pay attention to the negative.We actually do want to create together.

We do want to lift each other up.And it was just amazing.We got home and it's like, oh, wow, people want that.Thank goodness.

Wow.And this is the thing.When you have had the peak ultimate experience that no one else has had, you've traveled a farther distance from the planet Earth than anyone else has, how do you come back down to Earth and enjoy a cup of coffee on the porch?

Well, actually, it's funny because that's exactly what we enjoy the most.we enjoy these small things.And there may be this perspective change, at least for me, I experience it, say, when I'm walking on the beach and I look up at the blue sky, and I imagine what it looks like looking down at Earth and the beautiful, bright blue that is the sky from the other direction.And I can picture that, and I can picture the planet that I'm on, on this universal scale.But it just teaches you to just savor those small moments, because when you're that far away, That's the only thing that matters, because you're looking at a planet where every single personlove is, every misstep, every success, every single cup of coffee is there, and those things are what truly matters.

They're what bring meaning to a huge, giant universe.

I think one of the things that struck me is that you all realized immediately, but you've seen this before, because you've all lived at the space station, so you know that that we're suspended out here in this black space.And I love the word, the use of the word lifeboat, that we are the lifeboat.And that you can see from up there that all the things that we're fighting about, that there are no boundaries.I think that's what you said, Victor.

I wish we could find a way to get billions of people to space to see that perspective.It would not fix all of the things that are going on on the planet, but it sure would give some perspective.and build buy -in, you know, just the willingness to look at things differently.Build buy -in.Buy -in, willingness.It's all about willingness.

And I think that perspective can just nudge us in that direction because it does truly put things in perspective.You get so far away from it.You know, I was thinking about this quote, this poem while Christina was just talking.There's a T .S.Eliot poem, Little Gidding, and it's got this line that, we shall not cease from exploration.

At the end of our exploring is this, that we will return home and see it as for the first time.That cup of coffee, that neighbor, that handshake, Oprah's backyard, it all has a slightly different feel and context when you get to go away from it and miss it a little bit.And I wish everybody could miss Earth.That is a gift to be able to say, I missed Earth.But you come back, and I think now all of us feel like, We are ambassadors of that, and you just have to find a way to share that.

Was ultimately it a...You all say you all kept journals.I've been keeping a journal forever.I love it.you did.Was it ultimately a life -altering spiritual experience?

How would you categorize it?

I think I'm still thinking about that, but I definitely was deeply impacted by this journey.And I do think it was a very spiritual experience.But I also think that spiritual experience was presented to us because of the way we treated each other on this mission.We had so much love for each other.And I do not use that word lightly.We had so much love for each other.

Did you start out with the love?

Yes, we start.We were very intentional about this.And I think we did start out with it.But you never know what's going to happen when the engine's light and when you're in space.And there were just moments right from the beginning of this mission.But you knew you could all get along because you've been working together on the, yes.

For three years.So there was a baseline.respect and regard for each other as colleagues.

Of course, but there's always friction in there.

There's always friction in any human relationship.I think we surprised ourselves.After we landed, we talked about just, there was an extraordinary amount of grace up there.Even though that was a bit of the expectation, I think it exceeded my expectations.There was a lot of grace given.

So tell us, how were you all selected?How does this process work?

First, you have to become an astronaut.That's pretty competitive.I think there's a lot of luck that comes in that.The numbers are tiny and the applications are large.Go to Houston, interview for the job.To become an astronaut, I think the primary thing they look at, you know you have a good technical background, but they just look, can you survive as a team player in a small spacecraft for a long time?

And then for this mission in particular, I think we were just, we were all experienced space station flyers.We were fairly known quantities.We had Jeremy as the rookie, but he got selected when I got selected and he's probably the textbook team player.Team skills with Jeremy are really phenomenal.We knew the agency, we knew the mission, we knew each other.well, so it was pretty easy there.

But there's a little bit of luck as well.A little bit of what?Explain.Because there's, you know, our office is 50 or so people and There are folks that are on the space station that have the skills, and the timing was just, they are gone in space already, and so they weren't even in the pool to be selected.And so I just want to acknowledge that.Absolutely.

You can work hard and think, hey, I'm a great person for that mission, but you may not, the timing just may not work.So we are all very lucky.

But the person who put this together, or the team that put this together and said, it's going to be you, and it's going to be you, it's going to be you, must have seen something in each of you to say, this is a good fit.

I think you could take any four from our office and put them together and get a good fit.I really do.I believe that.

And there's also something special about knowing that there's no way we are the ultimate four best people for this mission.And we have to accept that and recognize that bringing our best to the table is all we can do, and to carry that burden of knowing that there is luck involved.And we aren't necessarily the perfect people, if you looked all across the billions on the planet, but we're the ones that have the honor and responsibility, and we're going to do our best.Absolutely.

Yeah, that was awesome.

OK, so what was, I have read and heard that the greatest bonding moment was when you all were on the other side of the moon and you named the crater after your wife, Carol, and that after that moment, you all were just like connected forever.Was that the moment?Or were there a series of moments?

You should ask the whole crew, but for me in particular, that was the moment where there was, we were bonded at that moment.

back.

That was a moment.It's kind of like how you asked if going was a spiritual experience.It's yes and no.That moment did something, but it also showed things that were in work for three years.We have been running this race, this lap of this race for a long time.And there was a moment where Christina came up with this idea.

I believe it was originally your thought.We talked about it, the three of us.Jeremy went and talked to Reed to make sure that it would be OK.But then I really do believe it was magic when he started to speak during the mission.It just, I don't, I don't think he wrote it.

When you started to speak about Carol, yes.

And he, he just, he got choked up, and we all got choked up at different times.The part that caught me is when he said it was, we were just looking at images, and it's a fresh, a newer crater, and it's bright.It actually is a very light, what they call a high albedo spot on the moon.And he said Carol was a bright spot, and that's, that was the moment that I lost it.And I think the hugging was starting, and it just, it did do something, but it also, reminded us of something that had been going on for three years.

So what did that mean for you?and your family?One of your daughters posted about what that meant to have.

That moment really came together.People don't know how much they should cherish Jeremy right at that moment, because that moment was not planned for that time.We didn't know when we were going to do that.And both of my children had come into Mission Control to sit in the back when we passed the distance record for Apollo 13.And we could look out the window and see that crater.And Jeremy just knew it was the right time.

It was the right time to do that.And I think for my kids, we haven't unpacked any of that yet.I think that's down the road.But just to know that their mom, who they love for eternity, there's a representation there.

Has a crater.There's a bright spot on the moon.There's a bright spot on the moon named after Carol.How did you know that was the moon, Jeremy?

I think, you know, sometimes you just have a feeling.When we, like Victor said, when we saw it for the first time, that was when I was like, oh, I actually feel like I have the words now to do this.We, when we were planning on the ground, I just didn't know if I'd be able to see it with the naked eye.And Kelsey and our science team helped send me some images so I could basically follow the breadcrumbs on the moon going from the big craters to follow and map it till we could get to the the smaller items.And then when we finally saw them, and they were so visual, like, sitting right there, and then I just, I knew I had the word somewhere inside of me.And we were talking to the ground team, and I just keyed the mic and kept going.

Wow.We can't imagine all of the incredible moments that you all experienced there.I heard you talk about witnessing an earth set, and just hearing the word earth set I made my eyes water because I love watching sunsets so much.And so an Earthset, explain to us what an Earthset is.

As you're going around the far side of the beach.you get the privilege of watching the only planet that we know houses life set behind the moon, just like when you're at the beach and you watch the sun set over the waves and you can just see the sun start to evaporate down in the atmosphere.There's no atmosphere on the moon, but we can certainly watch as our home planet started to set.When the sun sets, you see it start to misshape through the atmosphere.If you're at the beach and you look at it over the...When the Earth sets behind the moon, I've said this multiple times in different ways.

I've never said it this way, but you know for a fact the moon cannot sustain life because there is no atmosphere.And as you're watching in crystal clarity with your human eye, the Earth setting behind the moon, you can see the craters and the mountains on the moon in the Earth setting behind the moon because there is no atmosphere.It's just crystal clear as that occurs.And then it's gone.In a blink of an eye, it's gone.

Yeah.One of the things you said is that I don't believe humanity is even prepared for what we're looking at right now.What did you mean when you said that?

Victor was up in the docking hatch window, and I was coming off a camera, and he said, come on up and take a look.And he moved out of the way, and I looked out that docking hatch at the moon.And at this point, the sun had eclipsed behind the moon.So now we had this dark gray sphere in front of us and a little bit of Earth shine on the left side.The sun was bouncing off the Earth and illuminating a little bit of the left side of the moon.And it was perfectly three -dimensional.

And nothing that I had prepared for in that entire journey prepared me to look out and see that.And I was so thankful that I had my friend there.

And just to be able to like - You witnessed it too.

The best I could do was just suggest somebody come look at it.I really, you know, the idea that people trusted us to go do this, that scientists were counting on us to do this.what we were seeing.I really took that serious and loved sharing what we were seeing and how it felt.I didn't have it for that.I just, this took another brain, another set of eyes.

Like, I cannot start putting words to it.There's so much about that.You can see the picture.You know, we take pictures sometimes, and when there's something bright, you can't see the stars in the background, for example.But I could see the ring around the moon glowing, and so there was a halo around the moon, but I could see stars through it.I mean, that alone, I went, wait, I don't understand.

I do not understand, but I'm looking at it.

I understand you burst into tears when you could see the chaplain on the ship.What was behind that?

I am not a religious person.I just had no other way to...When you come back from space, first of all, you have a lot of adrenaline.And we had gotten to the Navy ship, and I just...I'm looking across at Victor, and it popped into my head that on every Navy ship, there is a chaplain.And I knew there would be a chaplain on that ship, so I asked if we could see the chaplain.

And when he walked in, I just lost, completely lost emotional control.Like, of everybody on that ship, I thought he was probably the one that could come the closest to relating to what the four of us had just been through.

That is also, it was a powerful moment for you.That was, of all these amazing things, that was a powerful moment for me to watch you do that.We talk about integrity.Our ship was integrity.And instead of...

I love that it was named that.

Yes.Oh, my gosh.And to live in integrity, we had an instructor from the National Outdoor Leadership School that talked about, you know, it's not you have integrity or you don't have it.Sometimes you're in it and sometimes you're out working to get back in.And so being in integrity, this statement makes me feel the same way.It's I'm not a religious person or I'm not a spiritual person.

But I would say that even I'm not speaking for you, but watching you, that was a spiritual moment for me.It was like being in integrity.

So I want to know, what was that moment like for each of you?For you, you, and Christina, and Jeremy, and Victor?Did each of you have one of those moments?You all had that moment together.

Yeah.What was the defining moment?Well, maybe the theme is home because when people ask me what surprised me the most about my space station mission and what you saw that surprised you the most, I say it was how you felt when you looked down at your home, where you're from, where you grew up, a place that you learned to identify on a map.by the shape of the landforms.And for me, the first time I saw the outer banks of North Carolina come around, and I first realized they crystallized, that that's where they were.And I knew what it felt like to be on that spot on planet Earth.

It was home, and it took my breath away.And something on this mission that was a little different was we couldn't make out specific landforms or places on Earth, but the entire planet was home.It was so far away and so perfect that I almost expected I could look out the other window and see Neptune, and that wouldn't be home.And the fact that that entire planet was home and there was so much else that wasn't was just something I'm still coming to terms with.

It was so small.It was so small.When I hear her talking about this planet out the window, I need you to visualize that it was about the size of your fingernail out the window.It was so small that we started calling home, tiny Earth.And I just want people that listen to this or to watch this to understand, you just can't process how small Earth is until you're 250 ,000 miles away from it.And all of that becomes reality.

real.Jeremy, for you, the moment?

So many I could share with you, but I will pick one that really surprised me that I wasn't prepared for from all the videos and images I've seen before I flew was when I would look out and I would see tiny Earth, but then I would see, you know, not the field of view of a camera, but, like, the field of view of a human brain.And, you know, when I'm on Earth and I look up in the night sky and I see all the stars, and to me they're sort of painted on a canvas in the night sky.But when I saw them from space, it was like it was a diorama I was looking at.And they had depth and I could see, like, these ones look closer, these ones look like they're further.But I wasn't just viewing this diorama, I was in the diorama.And to have the Earth and the Moon and all of that juxtaposition, I don't have the words, but it was this three -dimensional, the three -dimensionality of it that just, every time I saw that and perceived it, I was awestruck.

Well, Victor, we all know you were the pilot for Artemis II.As a young boy growing up, was this the fulfillment of something that was beyond anything you could have imagined, or was this a part of the dream?

Beyond, beyond, beyond imaginable, you know?I didn't know pilots when I was young.And so it's so interesting.I hear Reed talk about his childhood and wanting to be an engineer, but thinking that that meant driving trains.So I wanted to drive trains because mentors told me, hey, you're good at math.You might want to be an engineer.

So I'm way, way beyond.But I used to stare up at the moon.And so it's so amazing that that image, this thing that all of us look at all the time, and maybe take for granted a little bit to get to see it in a new way.Maybe it is a little bit of a, you know, accomplishment.a dream that's always been back there, but definitely beyond anything I could imagine.

You said we explore to learn about where we are, why we are, understanding the big questions about our place in the universe, which I think a lot of people think about often.So what have you learned about that big question about our place in the universe?

First, to get comfortable with big questions, to get comfortable with questions.We're so quick to defend a position and want to have a debate, but to just appreciate questions.I am very comfortable not knowing.I don't have the answer.

Did any of you think that perhaps there's some other life out here somewhere?That thought has to occur to you, that we can't be the only ones on tiny Earth.And so how have you resolved that question for yourself?

If statistically speaking, you just look at how big the universe is and you think there's got to be something out there.And with all of the efforts of the United States and all of our partner governments, we have not found it yet.And so I would say that it's this massive opportunity for there to be something, but also a reminder how important it is for us to take care of this something that we know, because we haven't found another place that we could do this yet.

Okay, so let's talk about this.I just interviewed Jim Collins recently.Jim Collins is one of the great leadership executives and teachers and philosophers in the country.He wrote Good to Great, and all the businesses use that book, Good to Great.And he just recently wrote a book called what to make of a life.And he begins a story talking about John Glenn and how John Glenn first saw airplanes in the sky and then wanted to be a pilot.

And he says,that John Glenn didn't just aspire to be an astronaut, but that John Glenn and all the other people he writes about in his book, What to Make of a Life, were encoded for it.He says John Glenn was encoded to be an astronaut.I see you smiling.Were you encoded to be an astronaut?Like, it's just in there.

I can start.with this, but it's just because I have an anecdote, because I don't know the real answer to that, but...About two years ago, I decided I wanted to learn to swim.And I am not coordinated.I am the least coordinated person you can imagine.And my husband watched me struggle for about a year and a half straight to try to learn to swim.

I would actually try to learn just to kick my feet and go straight in the pool.And I would go backwards and people would say, what were you doing?Was that some kind of a drill?And I would say, no, I'm just that bad at swimming.And my husband told me, honey, you were made to be an astronaut.You were not made to swim.

And I feel like one person believes in me that I'm made to be an astronaut.

Okay.Okay.I like that anecdote.

If I could just see one common thread is like, Christine often says what she would recommend to young folks is to do things that scare you, like do things out of your comfort zone.And when I look at the four of us in our astronaut office as a whole, We are fairly comfortable doing things that are, you just kind of throw yourself into it.There's, if there was a helicopter sitting over there, I would want to just go get in it and figure it out.There's just, we just have that kind of natural curiosity.I almost think it's a curiosity.Just put me in an unknown position and let me see if I can work my way through it.

And I think when I look at the four of us,we just like that.That is something we just enjoy doing.Jeremy, I love it when you talk about every human has a gift.

Oh, yeah.So that was something that was shared with me from an Indigenous elder at the Turtle Lodge that created this mission patch for the Canaan aspect of the mission.And in each of these, there's like seven animals that represent the seven sacred laws.But there's one teaching that I really love, and it's the teaching of the beaver, and it's that The beaver has a special gift.Of course, it can chew down trees.Nothing else can chew down trees.

But it has the wisdom to know how to use its gift to change its environment in a manner that supports others in bringing their gifts to the world.

I heard that you were grappling with this question of how could you possibly be happy when people are dying and suffering throughout the world.

You know, that question I really answered when I went on the vision quest with this elder.And that was the question I was really struggling with at that time.And the sort of the epiphany I had was that, you know, Jeremy, you don't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders.Your job every day is to wake up.to try to leave the world better than you found it, to try to contribute your energy in a way that lifts others up.And that is where you source your joy.

And if everybody just tries to do that simple thing, it's just not as hard as we make it.If you try to do that simple thing, you can have joy.

OK, now I want to talk about that liftoff and traveling through Earth's atmosphere.What's going through your mind in that moment?

We're at 39 times the speed of sound.We're at six miles every, not six miles a minute.Second.Six miles a second.No!

25 ,000 miles per hour.You're 25 ,000 miles per hour.

A lot.Maybe all of the things.Yep.

Teamwork, trust in your team.We had an amazing relationship.with the folks that designed the one piece of equipment that does all of the work or most of the work on reentry, which is the heat shield.And we had an incredible relationship with them, and we really came together as a team.And I was thinking about them, and I was thinking about this team.And I was thinking about the team I was coming home to.

You're thinking about all that went into making that liftoff off possible.And you just mentioned the space stations.So you were out there longer than any female has ever been there.How many days?328 days?328.

And you did, like, over 5 ,000 orbits?

If someone counted, that's probably right.I don't.I'm not sure.

Yes.And so how is that experience compared to what you just experienced?Yeah.

Wow.You know, I think that the thing that struck me and my takeaway on perspective that was different was how far away we were from our home planet.

Because it's not that far away when you're at the space station.

When you're at the space station, you're about 250 miles up.So we were about 1 ,000 times farther.And you can see a horizon.That gives perspective.You can make out landforms.And all of the things.

So the Earth doesn't look like tiny Earth.

It looks like big Earth, right?gorgeous, big, beautiful Earth.And there's so many things that come with that, with being able to identify places on Earth.And maybe you could say, though, that the more important difference is where we went.We went to the moon.We have a relationship with the moon, which is something that's meant something to all of us.

It's meant something to civilization since the beginning of time.And we left part of ourselves there.We miss it.and having this destination that we got to go explore.is another aspect that we have to internalize, different from the space station.

And still internalizing it.

And still internalizing it.

Probably for the rest of our lives.

But the space station enabled our mission.The 25 years of continuous people living on board, everything we've learned there about how to operate, about teamwork, we brought that with us.

And you learned how to be in a tiny little space.Yes.And yeah.Does it ever get to the point where you're like, you can't be claustrophobic, and they must know you're not claustrophobic, right?Does it ever get to the point where...

Surprisingly, I mean, we joked before we went.I mean, I would often say, I'm sure when they open that hatch on day 10 that we will be ready to get out.But I was not ready to get out.

Not at all.

If they had said we could have stayed in space longer, I would have been like, I'm fine with that.Really?

He kept joking on the mission that we're going to do a perigee raise burn, which would mean we would go by there and then do it all over again.We're going to keep going.A victory lap.

We were ready.Let's look at this photo.We found this photo, my team did, from 19...This is a control room 1969, Apollo 11 launch.Joanne Morgan is the only woman, and she's an instrumentation controller.

And if you're looking at the wide shot of that picture, you have to squint to actually see her in that photograph.And now 30%, I hear, of the Artemis launch team on the ground were women.

Yes.I think about how hard that must have been for her.Yeah, how, yeah.First and foremost.And then when you say 30%, I wonder why it's not 50.But it is great to have the team that we have.

Yeah.So what do you want to say to young women?

I think what I would really want to say to them right now, in this moment, is you are enough.And I say that because So in my high school, someone donated a statue of me.And it made me uneasy.Something about it just didn't sit perfectly well with me.And it wasn't just my humility or something like that.And I finally put my finger on it.

I was worried that the people that would walk through the door and see it would think that they weren't enough.Because that statue was too perfect of a representation.And at the little speech making that I did when it opened, I made sure to talk about the person I was in high school and how unsure I was of myself, how many mistakes I made, how many people I hurt, people that hurt me.And I just wanted them to know that they don't have to be as perfect as a statue.And sometimes right now, I feel like this crew is a little bit like that statue.We, in being here and talking about the superlatives, it doesn't tell the whole story.

Because we have a long story, a lot of people behind us, a lot of missteps, a couple victories.But all that came together to make us these people that very humanly carried everyone's dreams around the far side of the moon.But before we did that, we were enough.And I would say to them, you are too.

Well, you know what's so interesting is that from everything that we have seen of you, you know, going off into space, coming back, and now this, you know, world press tour, you all seem still so humble and still, you know, have your feet on the ground about all of this.What keeps you not leaning into the, you know, the eagleness of all of this?

Four daughters.Four daughters?No, I love it.I just love it.My first mission, I landed, and my oldest daughter graduated from high school three weeks later.And this mission, it was about a month, my youngest daughter graduates from high school.

And that is actually very helpful to be able to come back and try to just reintegrate back into my life.And I think that's - Is it hard reintegrating?

I mean, it's hard when you go on a business trip.So I'm sure it's really challenging.It requires intentionality.

OK.And I think it depends on where your life was when you launched.And my first time I launched, it was six months later.And this time, it was 10 days.And I hope I didn't leave the garage door open.And so it's different, but it requires intentionality.

I knew that because I got to practice it before in the military and on my first mission.But it's still different.My kids are five years.They're all adults now.They're five years older than the last time.And so that has been a very helpful perspective for me.

But also, the trust.

What do you have to do entering this space?I remember a friend who was an actor who was saying if he's going away on a six -month trip and you come back, the space is different.It's changed.Yeah.

It's changed.

And so you have to enter that space not as a person who left, but you have to enter the new space.So what changes for you when you're re -entering?

At the end of that very long comment, I'm also going to say that to not feel the room.My kids have personalities.My wife has a personality.They want to share.They want to be listened to.And America trusted us to do this.

The world trusted us to do this.Canada trusted us to do this.And it's not just for us to tell the story.It's to listen to people.My church asked me to talk about the mission.And in listening to people talk at church, I was like, OK, I agree to do it if it can be a community discussion.

I've heard things from each of them that I had not heard before.And I was gone, just like watching the video.So it's to not fill a room.It's easy not to lean into it, because there's so much that everybody else has.

And also, everybody wants to hear from you.Yes.Everybody wants to hear from you.

But that's just one piece.

That's just one piece.Jeremy, how would you answer that question, re -entering the space with your wife and family?

Very warmly.Like, really supported.I felt really supported leading up to the launch, because that's a very stressful time.And I just thought, you know, Maybe the cracks would start to show, you know, in the family unit, but we really leaned in together.We had two conferences with our families when we were in space, and those just felt so warm and positive.And so coming back, Yes, things have changed, but the things that I'm craving are the ones that stayed the same.

And I feel like they have a sense of that.And we're just, when we're together, it's just the way it always was.

How did you all talk to your families about the risks involved?Because, you know, as you all were reentering, all of us are holding our breaths, and we're watching that.fire, rocket ship come down, and we're all having a collective universal prayer that it's going to be OK.And I can imagine what that is like for your families taking off and landing.So did you have the discussion before?Did you have the discussion with your daughters?

100%.

And they don't want to hear the discussion.At least that was my perception.But you have to have it.You have to hit it head on.

Do you actually say the words, if I don't come back, or if something happens?

We read through the will.We read through the trust.If I don't come back, here's where you're going to go.Here's where your guardians will be.Here's where you will spend your Christmas, your holidays.Here is where you'll spend your summers.

And what I found in that, although it's difficult, there's probably two things I want to say.The first I want to say is I felt like it was liberating for them.I felt like it gave them space to justaccept that this is a possibility.And then not many people have these conversations with their families.Period.

But life is risky, even if you're not climbing on an 8 million pound rocket and going around the moon.And I think these conversations are very healthy.And another thing that this conversation helped me with, but then also my crew has helped me with, is there are a lot of things that you want to shy away from.And you, those build up in your soul.You can feel them building up when you shy away from a conversation that you should be having.And I'm not perfect.

I shy away from, they know I shy away from just about every tough conversation because it's hard for me.But I have found every time you have those conversations, even if they don't go well, you come out the other side.Just your soul is a little bit freer.That's something I'm still, that's part of my journey at 50 years old, is to still work my way through that.But don't avoid.You have to talk about those things.

Yeah.

Did you, Christina?

I did.I had those conversations with my husband.And he knew I was working on a will.He was aware of the risks.And we, I sort of waited, I would say, till the mission was very salient, till we were in quarantine.And I knew that he knew that I was going on a journey that I understood the risks of, and that it was the fulfillment of my life's work and all of my dreams, and that that would bring him peace if I didn't come back.

But what I realized I needed him to know was that none of that was what I wanted.meant the most to me and why he should actually have peace.It was because he loved me and I loved him.And that's why it would be okay.

I'm struggling with a short answer to this because it is such a profound thing to try to walk through.I think the characteristic that stands out the most is I had this conversation the very first time at about 28 years old, getting ready to go into combat.And sofive deployments in a space mission, my kit, my life, and my family, and my wife, we've all changed.And this last time, my kids were all adults.And so this was a very different, the most different conversation.

And I felt like I needed to respect their adulthood.And it just was an honest conversation.And at the end of it, I felt it was very heavy.I mean, not everybody is having these types of conversations, but it's important.And did you do it one on one or did you do it as a group?A little bit of both.

I've got four very different daughters and, you know, different needs there.And so a little bit of both.And then at the end, I just I had to send them a poem.I was like, I don't know.I don't know how I ended that.And so I sent them this poem.

And Chief Tecumseh, it's a really just well -written, very dense poem.I love it.It's a way to live your life.But in the end, it talks about if you go out, you know, sing your song and go out in a blaze of glory.And it's a very And so I sent that to them, and they all appreciated it, I think.And so it helped to end it on a little more positive note.

And you sent that to us before we launched, too?Yes, I also sent it to the crew.

You sent them the poem?

I sent it to the crew.

Two days or one day before launch?I guess it was.I should have sent it a little earlier.It's a great poem.It was perfect.We were having a discussion as a crew about, like, what if we end up in that situation where we are still alive, but we don't think we're coming back?

How are we going to, how are we going to show up for each other?How are we going to handle it?And it was on the heels of that.

You all had that conversation?

We did.His suggestion.

We did.

Great conversation.So on the heels of that conversation, he sent us that poem, and I'm like, yep, that's perfect.Okay, so how'd you bring that up, Jeremy?Just like you bring up things here.

I will say, that conversation I remember so well, because he did, he brought it up.up in the perfect Jeremy way of just...And what we had established as a crew is that if we knew we were in that situation, we would handle it with grace and honor and almost a solemnness.But I will say...That is beautiful, but there was a moment on the mission where it did not serve me because on re -entry, I was misunderstanding some of Victor's calls, and I thought he was calling our G -loads way higher than they should have been.And I thought, well...

He's not freaking out, so we're probably fine.And then I thought, but wait, we said we wouldn't freak out.So I don't actually know.

No way.

And wasn't there a time where you woke up in the middle of the night and there was some alarm going off?Wasn't there?

Every night of the mission.

Every night except one.

Most nights.Really?Yes.

It's disorienting.And when that alarm goes off, there was something with the fuel.

We had an alarm, it's called a run box caution, and what that could potentially mean is that you're leaking your fuel out of the spacecraft, and that's not a great situation for us.And we did, we had a run box alarm at two in the morning, very disoriented.Time is weird up there, so it was, because we run off of a different clock, but it was in the middle of sleep, and I woke up very disoriented.I slept underneath the displays, Victor was right to my left, and I woke up and looked, I was like, I think that's a run box.And Jeremy actually comes around, because he was like, oh, Runbox, we have to shut down the fuel system.So Jeremy came around the side of the display and started, maybe you weren't sleeping there yet.

It was Jeremy that day.And Jeremy came around, and we were all very disoriented, because it was the middle of the night.And Jeremy started executing the procedures.And then we just, we have a rule in our crew, no fast hands.Like, don't go fast if you can stand it.And so I was looking at the displays and looking at the fuel system, and we were waiting for ground to call.

And Jeremy was starting to configure.And I just said, hey, let's stop.At least in my mind, that's how it went.And let's just pause for a second, because these indications I see are not, they're not aligning with this, the level, the extreme level of this caution.And that created some tension in the crew for a moment, because we have very explicit instructions.You save the fuel system there, because you could be leaking your fuel out of the vacuum of space, and that is deadly.

And we did stop, and we all talked about it for a few seconds, and we worked our way out of that.And we did have a very small leak, which caused that caution.But it was not a great situation, and we just needed to monitor it for a little while.

So you all are trained to stay calm, right?

Well, we like to think so.

You like to think so.I don't wake up to an alarm and haven't, even in the days of The Oprah Show where I had to get up at 5 .30 every morning, because the alarm alarms me.And I don't want to start my day being alarmed.So if I were to hear an alarm in the middle of the night, it's just like, you know, when people had real phones and the phone rings in the middle of night, 3 a .m., you know it's a problem and you're alarmed.

So when you heard the alarms, does your heart immediately start palpitating?Are you like...

Probably individual.Some of these crew members have ice in their veins, but yes, it gets your attention quick.

Let's talk about some, again, some of the logistics, because I hear that those orange suits are built to keep you alive for six days.For six days.And so what's in those suits?You can poop in the suits, you can...Do everything you need to do, and then you can poop in the suits.You can do whatever you need to do in the suits.

Yes, absolutely.Some of the - Eat and drink and everything is in the suits.All of that.Yes, they have a plan for that.And we practice with those systems, both on the ground and we did what's called a flight test objective to test them out in space to see how they worked in microgravity.And it would not be a fun six days, but the idea is it would be survivable if you use the equipment that's available.

for eating and drinking.There's a port, actually, in the side of the helmet.And you can put a straw in, and we have these very special nutrition drinks.I think it's this actual straw.Yeah, it's actually that straw.Turns out, it is.

It tells me exactly.

When I picked up this glass, I was like, oh, this is the oxygen port.I wanted you to feel familiar here.So there's no running water in space, obviously, in the capsule.And so you can't take a shower or you can't bathe in space.So how does that work?

You have towels that have soap already in them.And, you know, we don't have hot water.Our water is ambient.So depending on the attitude of the spacecraft...

Is that called a shamir bath?

Yes, yes.And I didn't know that this was being broadcast, but I'm glad it is, because I think, you know, seeing the process, seeing the daily things, I mean, hey, I got to wash the toes.You're getting in between those toes.You know, you got to.That's the most important part.I think you have broken the internet.

And that's an important part of it.The other thing you see in this, my favorite thing about this is something we've been trying to share.Everything is a group activity.I mean, you know, Jeremy's eating and cleaning his spoon, and I'm cleaning my body right there.You probably wouldn't do those two things in the same room.

Yes.

Let alone that close to each other at home, but we only had one room.And so you used that towel, and what we were able to do is put it in the food warmer.We put it in the food warmer to warm it up so you could do a hot bath.Oh, a hot chamois.Yes.

A hot chamois.And I understand that you were the space plumber, Christina.Yes.How did you get that job?

Well, I was a space plumber.Actually, it's just my seat.My seat, I was in charge of two main things, and it was just because of where I was sitting.I was sitting next to the hatch, and I was sitting next to the toilet.So I got to set up the toilet as soon as we got to orbit.

Wow.So I was talking earlier about in the preparation, you train not to panic.How do you train not to panic?Maybe actually...So do they put you in situations that you normally, your body normally would panic?You know, I was doing some hiking this past summer, and I got onto a cliff that I shouldn't have been on.

My body automatically started to shake.I thought I was calm, but my knees started knocking together, and my body started to shake.And I couldn't stop myself from shaking.So how do you stop yourself from panicking when everything in your body says, I should be scared right now?

You know, Reed was being very complimentary, saying, you know, some of us may have ice in our veins, but I don't think any of us do.We're all humans, and we all have, we're the people that came into this.But one of the benefits of training is you get a chance to practice doing things when the alarms go off.And I love this idea.I borrowed it from someone in doing the next right thing.You may have 100 things to do, but you need to just be good enough to do the next right thing.

And I specifically say this a lot about public speaking.That's something that kind of universally makes people nervous.And I like to get up on stage and tell people to look closely at my hand.It's shaking, but I've learned to work through that.I can give a speech while nervous.It actually helps me speak better now.

But it's not that we don't get nervous.We just know how to work through or with that.is still do the right thing.

I want to add one thing to that.The day before we launched, you get to see some of your extended family through this quarantine facility.So you can actually talk to them just on a phone.And my dad and my brother were there.And I inadvertently made my dad tear up.And it was because I said, you know, dad, my dad was very worried about the rest of the mission.

I said, dad, look, I got two amazing kids.I'm 50 years old.I got an amazing life.I am so at peace right now.When we launched, I have never felt peace in my life like that.Never.

And I think that played a huge factor in it.I was going into space with three great people on board.felt we were all at peace.We were all so comfortable with where we were, and it helped.I was much more frightened on my first mission to the International Space Station 10 years earlier, because my life wasn't in that state of peace.And now I was there, and I think that had a hugely foundational part.

Would you all say the same thing?

Definitely, yeah.You were at peace?100%.

Yeah.I think that's what we're all feeling.There's something about the four of you that has connected, and I'm going to try not to cry, that is connected in such a way that you went all the way out there, farther than any human beings have ever traveled before, to remind us of who we are.And so what you brought back to us was not just what was out there, but you brought back to us a sense of ourselves.And you can only do that when you have that together yourself.

So true.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Yeah.

What you just said is the best gift you could ever give us, because that is all we ever wanted.

Yeah.

And you all did that.We didn't.

No, I think you all actually played a part.It's the synergy.the symbiotic relationship here.But it feels like something really genuine.And it's so genuine that that's why we're moved by it.At that point where you all had absolutely zero contact with mission control.

Houston copies.We'll see you on the other side.

Was that scary?Or was that calming?For 40 minutes.

Jeremy, what do you think?It was not scary for us because, you know, we trust in science.We knew we were going to come out the other side, and to be out of contact was not a big deal.

So not one second were you saying, I hope this works.Yeah.

Not really scary, but the one thing, it was significant.Like, it was significant to be in that spot.with these three people.And it was obvious to me that we all looked at each other in that moment, and we thought, wow, this is a really unique human experience.And one of the other things I didn't say earlier that I should have added to the diorama comment about, like, just seeing the juxtaposition, but it made me feel really tiny and insignificant, and so did being on the far side of the moon with you guys.But it also, at the same time, made me feel extremely powerful that we were there as a human species, like, powerful as a collective.

And that kind of sums up that feeling of being in the far side of the moon.

I think that's interesting, representing the human species.Not just Canada, not just the United States, but representing the human species.And I read that you said this, Victor, you said this, I took a brief moment to say a short prayer of gratitude for being sent on this mission.And I was really hoping that while we were waiting to get back into contact, that people could just feel that sense of togetherness, that we were all a crew on Spaceship Earth.

You know, you asked about, was it a scary moment?Not for our physical well -being or getting back in contact.The gravity assist around was going to work and we had simmed that out.The thing I would say I was the most worried about was that we might miss the opportunity to just be connected for a moment and to have a human moment.a moment, you know, when we lose someone, we have a moment of silence out of respect.Well, we were going into radio silence.

And so I love this idea of a moment of togetherness.It just seemed like we had a chance to be together, do the same thing as humans for this same moment.And I was worried that that wouldn't, you know, break through the noise floor of all the things going on online and on TV.And that was my biggest concern.But we didn't have time to be worried because we were busy doingwe were closest to the moon and farthest from the earth right around that time.

And so we had to, we were, Christina and I were making observations, looking out of the windows and recording them on our computers.And I actually meant to say my prayer and then go to the recording, but I was in the middle of a science recording when I said my prayer.And so, you know, the science team gets to listen to this recording in the middle of that observation.It was also very busy.You know, we were working, and we took a minute to have a human moment, and we went right back to work, and we picked up communications a little over 40 minutes later.

Let's talk about, Jeremy, that reentry.What's it like, you know, feeling like you're buckled in and you're falling back to earth?Are you just praying that all those parachutes are going to go up there?I know we were.

Yeah.I think it's a, I feel like it's a lot easier to be in the capsule than to be on the ground watching it.You're just, it's like Reed was talking about, like, I think we had all made peace with what we were going to experience on this journey.And we, I believed, I think we all did, like, I was optimistic.I believed we were going to come back, most likely.I wasn't sure of it, but I was pretty confident we would most likely come back.

And so I was just trying to enjoy the experience.And it's really quite an incredible experience.Like, all the things and feels of that.Like, the first thing you see is this red plasma building out the window.And then it became, like, this green and blue.And it was flashing like somebody was out there welding.

It was so bright, it hurt to look at it.I put my dark visor down.The G -forces are just squeezing you into the seat.You haven't been in gravity in a while.And then eventually the drogues come out, and it's shaking you around.It's all violence.

And then it drops you again.as they detach.And then the mains come out.And then Christine and I are sitting beside each other.So when the mains came out, we were like, yes.Yeah.

Yeah.And is that the moment that you feel relieved when the shoots?

Really was.Because from that moment on, there's still things that can happen.You can still have, like, dangerous gases come in the vehicle and all these things we train for, but we had a plan for all of them.That was the first time where I felt like whatever the capsule throws at us right now, I think we can survive it.Prior to that, you're like, there are some things I know we just can't.

You can't.You can't.So who opened the hatch?

Our Navy dive team.

United States Navy.

That's right.

You all were in that water a long time.You guys, I'm like, we were sitting there waiting.We were like, what are they doing in there?Will they open the hatch?

We were having a great time.

What were you doing in there?Being happy to be alive.

Yes.

Yes.Just enjoying our last few minutes in integrity with each other.

We had all gotten out of our seats.We were still in the orange suits.But we were all out of our seats, kind of leaning back against the side of the spacecraft.waiting for the teams to get there.Christina had some peanut M &M's in her pocket that contraband from the moon, and we ate that.And it was just like a really nice crew moment.

And you can tell, like, looking back at some of the videos of us in there, we all had adrenaline.We were chatty.We were really, really chatty, waiting for the rescue team to come get us.

Yes.And by that time, are you anxious, or is it just the feeling of relief?Total peace.

Yeah, and I would say more gratitude.Like, a little bit of disbelief and just gratitude.Not relief.I don't remember feeling relief, but just like, wow, we just flew around the moon, and we're back in the Pacific Ocean, and all these people are actually here.We're in the right spot.

Yeah, exactly.They were waiting for us, and that was great.that we were looking at three days ago, we're now on it.

Tiny Earth ain't so tiny anymore.

Tiny Earth ain't so tiny anymore.

So read your daughter, Katie, posted a beautiful, I mentioned earlier, this welcome home message on Instagram.And I'm going to read part of it.She says, watching the Artemis II rocket lift off the pad was a feeling I will never be able to describe to a single soul on this planet.Watching my own dad risking it all for the benefit of humanity was such a beautiful yet achingly painful experience.To have a crater named after my mother was completely unreal.She was the funniest, most kind, and beautiful mom on this earth, and will now not just be part of history, but etched into the moon itself for all of eternity.

To look up at the sky every night and see her is the most beautiful thing I've ever been given.

How does a 17 -year -old come up with that?I mean, that was absolutely amazing.I was going to talk about this a little while ago, but I'll just talk about it right now.We have talked a lot about shared experience, but we all had unique experiences.If you crack us open, we all feel a little differently about this, and we all have moments that were very, very special to us.And I think a couple of those moments when you first talked to Bob, and you were like, guys, it's pretty crazy down there.

Like, a lot of people are paying attention, and we're all like, oh, yeah, yeah, whatever.But on flight day seven, I got to talk to my kids, and that was when I saw in them that they understood why I put them through this.

On day seven, we talked to them.

On day seven, I could hear and see that they now understood why this was important and why this was worth it and why I needed to go do this.They got it.

They got it.They fully got it.

And that, if you could ever get your daughter to vote,like that about you, it's pretty powerful.

It absolves you in a lot of ways.

So, oh my gosh, you just summed up every feeling in one word.

There's guilt that comes with putting a lot of risk to chase your dreams, even if you are doing it for the right reasons.

Selfishness.Yep.And so your daughters, their reaction?

You asked us earlier if there's one thing that you know, is a moment or has changed your perspective.My favorite thing about doing these types of things is what it does to our family members.You know, we work at NASA and the Canadian Space Agency and with all of our partners, and we're so close to it that it's easy to think that everybody is as interested in space exploration as we are.But when your family responds in a way that surprises you, when your child writes something like that, You know, the things that I, I listened to one of Jeremy's kids talk about, you know, parents want to see their kids accomplish their dreams, but seeing your parent accomplish their, and I was just like, wow, he's got a gift in speaking first of all.But that's all, that is just a beautiful thing to, to chew on.And I just love what it, my parents, listening to my parents reflect on, the people at my church reflect on this experience.

You know, I don't want to talk about it.I want to sit and listen to their experiences of the mission as well.And so, you know, listening to my kids celebrate this and my wife celebrate it has also been an amazing part of this journey.

Well, I know you didn't have kids, but you came home to a Sadie.I have a Sadie, too.

Oh, my goodness.Sadie was 17.I think Sadie really got it.Sadie got it?She really understood.

Sadie would have gotten it if you'd just gone to the grocery store, though.

That is true.And or if that was you at the door, that would be exactly what she does.And she was extra spazzy this day.Yeah, I wanted some kisses, but she wasn't having it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.So change forever.Change forever.And what do you want to say to the world now that you've come back, you're settling in?

I would just say choose joy.It's just we have a deliberate choice every day in what we decide to use our energy for and what we decide to focus on.Just choose joy.

Choose joy.

Trust, togetherness, gratitude.Thank you to the world for trusting us to do what we did, our role in this mission.And, you know, thinking about that, just the overriding response is how much gratitude that that creates.And the one common theme through all of this in each other, in our heat shield engineering team, the flight control, the launch control team, our agencies and our partnership is trust.It takes trust to go to space more than it takes rockets and rocket engines and parachutes.It takes trust.

And so I just wish we would think about those things, trust, togetherness, and gratitude.Trust, togetherness, and gratitude.Christina?

Well, I hoped I would come up with something while you guys were talking, but there's just so much.What you said about a crew, that is everlasting.That was something that meant a lot to me that day.And I could definitely say that looking back at Earth and seeing that It's not guaranteed.What we have is not given.It's not an absolute.

It's a lifeboat that we share.And if you, like Jeremy says, if you saw something in us, it can be emulated.Because just like we were a spaceship out in the universe, this planet is a spaceship out in the universe.And that means we are a group.

Yeah.We got to figure it out.When you all were out there saying those things,words, I was saying, we all got to figure it out.We've got to, what you were saying earlier, Victor, we've got to figure out a way to bring that perspective that you all saw to other people so that we figure it out.We stop fighting over the things that don't matter and figure out the things that do and bring ourselves together.

You get the final words, sir.

First, on figuring it out and being together.

I just don't want it to be lost that differences are absolutely OK.

Yeah.

And they're very powerful.It's being able to just accept differences and come and discuss them and just pull a little from each difference, being just open to the fact that we can have different viewpoints.And that doesn't mean you're right and I'm wrong or I'm right and you're wrong.Like, let's talk about these things.Let's learn from each other.I think that's the first thing I would say.

And then listening to, Oprah, everything you've said and What Christina, Victor, and Jeremy have said, the only thing that I can possibly add is I've listened to these birds chirp the whole time we've been out here.I've felt a little bit of wind just coming from the left to right on my face.And I do think sometimes when you leave Earth and come back to it, you can take a minute to appreciate the beauty of nature.It's very special, and it should be appreciated every day.

Thank you.Thank you for reminding us of ourselves.Thank you, Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, and everybody at NASA for making this interview in my backyard.Such an honor.Such an honor.Such an honor.

Go well, everybody.Wow.Thank you.Thank you.

Right from my own backyard.

You can subscribe to the Oprah Podcast on YouTube and follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.I'll see you next week.Thanks, everybody.