The latest spacecraft that was sent off into space on April 1, 2026, was the Artemis II. It carried four astronauts and orbited the moon for 10 days. On April 10, 2026 the spacecraft splashed down after a successful journey.
The primary goal of the mission was to test deep space exploration and to establish human presence on the moon. Even if the mission was not to land on the moon, rather to orbit it, it was the first time that an Artemis mission has had a crew onboard, with the first one that launched Nov. 16, 2022, having two fabricated crew members.
This was a very historical event, since the last time humans executed a space mission to the moon was Dec. 11, 1972, with the Apollo 17 mission. This was the most recent mission where humans landed on the moon and carried out a geological survey of the moon’s surface.
Back on the most recent space mission, the Artemis II crew was composed of four astronauts: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. Wiseman was the commander of the mission, with Glover as the pilot and Koch and Hansen both as mission specialists. Koch was the first woman to travel to the moon.
Drew University students have voiced some of their thoughts on the moon orbit mission. Eva Esqueda (‘26) said, “I think it’s really cool to see a launch like this in our generation. Still, I wonder if the purpose of the mission was enough to justify the relative costs and publicity regarding other issues going on in the world at the moment.”
Social media has contributed to the overall publicity around the mission, as Esqueda mentioned above. The Artemis II team has their own Instagram account, @nasaartemis, where they have been sharing some updates about their mission. The crew had even shared with the world what their morning song of the day was. Even though previous space explorations have had media coverage like this through television and newspapers, none have appeared on social media like Artemis II.
Follow the Artemis II Instagram above and NASA’s Instagram, @nasa, and anywhere you find news to get updates on the Artemis II mission’s splashdown and the perspective of the astronauts after they have now returned home.
Katie Germinder is a junior majoring in environmental studies and sustainability and minoring in anthropology.