‘Modern-day pioneers; you’ve inspired the world’: Trump speaks to Artemis II crew

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Monday (local time) spoke to the crew members of Artemis II mission and praised them for inspiring the world with their feat. Noting that they made history, the US President said that the mission paves the way for America’s return to the lunar surface. Trump also said that US would eventually establish permanent presence on the moon and then aim at Mars.

He made the remarks while speaking to the crew members after the mission broke the farthest distance record in human spaceflight. Trump said, “Today you have made history and made all America incredibly proud”.

Recalling the last space mission, which was more than half a century ago, Trump hailed the Artemis crew for breaking the all-time record for the farthest distance from planet Earth. “Humans have never really seen anything quite like what you’re doing in a manned spacecraft. It’s really special. You all made this day possible. You’ve inspired the entire world.”

LIVE FROM SPACE: President Donald J. Trump Calls Artemis II Astronauts After Breaking the Farthest Distance Record in Human Spaceflight HISTORIC!

“Your mission paves the way for America’s return to the lunar surface very soon.” pic.twitter.com/1TzmIEQG0l

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 7, 2026

Praising US tech prowess, Trump said that travelling to the Moon would become more prevalent and hinted towards the future trip to Mars.

“At long last, America is back, and America is back in many ways stronger than ever before. We’re the hottest country anywhere in the world. The Artemis crew flew in the most powerful rocket NASA has ever made, ever launched, travelled over a quarter of a million miles, and broke the distance record set by the legendary Apollo 13. America is a frontier nation, and the four brave astronauts of Artemis 2 are modern-day pioneers”.

“We’ll plant our flag once again, and this time we won’t just leave footprints. We’ll establish a permanent presence on the moon, and we’ll push on to Mars. That’ll be very exciting. America will be second to none in space and everything else that we’re doing, and we will continue to lead into the stars”, the US President added.

The Artemis II mission marks a key step in NASA’s plans to return humans to the Moon and advance future deep space exploration. The crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

The Artemis II mission has broken the record for the farthest distance travelled by humans from Earth, breaking the Apollo 13 mission’s record of 248,655 miles. (ANI)