A powerful, Easter message from a member of the Artemis II crew.
Last week, NASA launched a mission to perform a lunar flyby for the first time in 50 years. Commander Reid Wiseman, mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, and pilot Victor Glover are currently up in space, and around a day and a half away from reaching the far side of the moon.
The four astronauts are playing a critical role in the Artemis program, which was established in 2017 with the goal to return humans to the moon since 1972 (yeah, it’s been that long). The hope of the program is to eventually build a permanent base on the moon. If all goes well, then the next step would be a human mission to explore Mars.
Technically, this is the second mission of the Artemis program. The first was an unmanned launch. This second mission, Artemis II, was a manned launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four crew members aboard will spend a total of 10 days in space aboard the Orion spacecraft to complete a flyby of the moon.
Thanks to advanced technology, we here on Earth have been able to stay very connected to the brave men and women manning the Artemis II mission. The crew was even a part of an interview with CBS News on Saturday, and when Victor Glover – a former college athlete and member of the Navy – was asked if wanted to share any Easter thoughts.
The astronaut said he wasn’t prepared to answer the question, but you would have never been able to tell by his eloquent, impromptu response:
“I don’t have anything prepared. I’m glad you brought it up, though; I think these observances are important. As we are so far from Earth and looking back at the beauty of creation. For me, I think one of the really important, personal perspectives that I have up here is I can really see Earth as one thing. When I read The Bible and look at all of the amazing things that were done for us, who were created, you have this amazing place. This spaceship.
You guys are talking to us because we’re in a spaceship really far from Earth, but you’re on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe. Maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we’re doing is special, but we’re the same distance from you. And I’m trying to tell you – just trust me – you are special.”
What a phenomenal perspective that could only be inspired by seeing Earth from space.
Glover went on to provide an uplifting Easter message that managed to be inclusive of both believers and non-believers. He provided a message of unity, and challenged everyone on Easter Sunday to think of the Earth as one:
“In all of this emptiness – 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. I think, as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about all the cultures all around the world, whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not, this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing, and that we’ve gotta get through this together.”
That’s certainly a wonderful message in these divisive times, and it was cool to see the rest of the crew applaud Glover’s Easter message.
I think we take for granted just how remarkable it is that we’re able to communicate with four astronauts currently on their way to the moon. Space travel is an incredible thing, and it really seems like the Artemis II crew are perfect for the mission that is currently underway.
At the very least, they are all blown away by the beauty of seeing Earth from space. Commander Reid Wiseman shared this picture on social media last night, and it’s well on its way to half a million likes on X:
Happy Easter to all those who are celebrating!
