Astronauts say they saw sights 'no human has ever seen'

NASA's Artemis-2 mission has created new history in lunar exploration. The four astronauts who took part in the mission have said they witnessed sights that no human has ever seen before — not even during the Apollo missions.

During a live conversation with US President Donald Trump, he asked about the most memorable moment of the historic day. Artemis-2 commander Reid Wiseman replied, "We saw things that no human has ever seen. It was truly remarkable for us."

NASA said the four astronauts reached the farthest point from Earth behind the moon at 3:58 pm GMT on Monday, April 6. They were approximately 406,771 kilometres away from Earth, setting a new record for human spaceflight.

During this time, communication with the astronauts was lost for about 40 minutes before being re-established. After communication returned, Trump congratulated them and asked about their experience during the blackout.

Artemis-2 pilot Victor Glover said he prayed for a while after losing communication. However, they continued scientific observations and recorded data during that time. "We were busy and working hard here. The experience was actually good," he said.

The previous record for the farthest distance travelled by humans was set by the Apollo-13 mission in 1970, when astronauts travelled approximately 406,171 kilometres from Earth. Artemis-2 has now broken that record.

Glover said putting their experience into words is difficult. He joked that humans may not yet have evolved to witness such sights.

Commander Wiseman expressed similar feelings, saying, "It is completely indescribable. No matter how long we look, the brain cannot fully process the scene. It is surreal."

He added that new adjectives may need to be invented to describe the experience, as existing words are insufficient.

Glover described the solar eclipse seen from Artemis-2 as "sci-fi" and "unreal." He said that even as the sun disappeared behind the moon, the sun's corona appeared as a ring of light around it.

"Within seconds of the sun going behind the moon, Earth's light became visible. The Earth looked so bright, and the moon seemed to be hanging right in front of us," he said.

Glover also noted that stars and planets were visible behind the dark part of the moon, creating a stunning and mesmerising experience.

Mission Control told the astronauts, "This is a good opportunity to look to the future and see where we are going."

The astronauts joked about wanting to add 20 new adjectives to the dictionary while summarising the mission.

Source: BBC