Before etching their names in spaceflight history, the four Artemis II astronauts received some posthumous words of encouragement from one of NASA’s greats.
Jim Lovell, who flew on two Apollo-era missions in 1968 and 1970, recorded a message for the astronauts before his death in 2025. They heard it before they became the first humans to fly near the moon in more than 50 years.
On Monday, April 6, astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover of NASA, as well as Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, flew by the moon in a mission similar to the Apollo 8 flyby, of which Lovell was a part. And in a bit of serendipity, it wasn’t long before a nearly seven-hour period of lunar observations began that the Artemis II crew broke one of Lovell’s own records: surpassing the distance from Earth that the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission reached under Lovell’s command.
Here’s what Lovell said:
Hello, Artemis II! This is Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell. Welcome to my old neighborhood! When Frank Borman, Bill Anders, and I orbited the Moon on Apollo 8, we got humanity’s first up-close look at the Moon and got a view of the home planet that inspired and united people around the world. I’m proud to pass that torch on to you — as you swing around the Moon and lay the groundwork for missions to Mars … for the benefit of all. It’s a historic day, and I know how busy you’ll be. But don’t forget to enjoy the view. So, Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy, and all the great teams supporting you — good luck and Godspeed from all of us here on the good Earth.
This mission is a huge step forward in human spaceflight, but NASA’s thoughtfulness in moments like this have really blown me away.