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President Donald Trump spoke with the crew of Artemis II on Monday night following their historic flight around the moon, praising the astronauts as “modern-day pioneers” and inviting them to visit the White House.
“You’ve made history and made all America really proud, incredibly proud,” the president told the four astronauts shortly after they emerged from the far side of the moon.
President Trump congratulated Cmdr. Reid Wiseman, mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, and pilot Victor Glover for what he described as “breaking the all-time record” for human travel beyond Earth.
“Humans have really never seen anything quite like what you’re doing in a manned spacecraft,” Trump said. “It’s really special.”
The president was introduced to the crew by Jared Isaacman, who noted that President Trump wanted to be among the first to speak with the astronauts after their return from the far side of the moon.
Before ending the call, Trump invited the astronauts to the White House once they return to Earth.
“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.”
The crew is expected to return to Earth later this week, with a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
RSBN previously reported that the president celebrated the planned launch of Artemis II, which is sending astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than five decades.
The mission, led by NASA, lifted off Wednesday evening and carries four astronauts on a flight path that loops around the moon before returning to Earth.
“Tonight at 6:24 P.M. EST, for the first time in over 50 YEARS, America is going back to the Moon! Artemis II, among the most powerful rockets ever built, is launching our Brave Astronauts farther into Deep Space than any human has EVER gone,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“We are WINNING, in Space, on Earth, and everywhere in between — Economically, Militarily, and now, BEYOND THE STARS,” he added. “Nobody comes close! America doesn’t just compete, we DOMINATE, and the whole World is watching. God bless our incredible Astronauts, God bless NASA, and God bless the Greatest Nation ever to exist, the United States of America!”