Artemis II crew head for home after travelling further from Earth than anyone before

There was much anticipation during the 40 minutes when Orion was not able to contact Earth.

After the Artemis crew returned from the far side of the moon, mission specialist Christina Koch
broke the silence.

Here is what Koch said:

“Houston, Integrity, comm check.

It is so great to hear from Earth again…

To Asia, Africa and Oceana, we are looking
back at you, we hear you can look up and see the moon right now. We see you too.

When we burned this bird towards the moon, I said that we do not leave Earth, but
we choose it and that is true.

We will explore, we will build, we will
build ships, we will visit again.

We will construct science outposts. We
will drive rovers, we will do radio astronomy, we will found companies, we will bolster industry.

We will inspire but ultimately we will
always choose Earth.

We will always choose each other.”