Harrison High School student reporter Emma Benvenuto shares perspectives on NASA’s Artemis II mission, exploring its historic achievements, record-breaking journey, and impact on representation in space exploration.

On April 1, 2026, NASA’s Artemis II mission successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County, Fla., with the intention of tracing the path that the Artemis IV will complete in getting humans to the surface of the moon for the first time since 1972.

The crew, including Reid Wiseman (mission commander), Victor Glover (mission pilot), Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen (both mission specialists), returned to Earth after a successful mission on April 10, 2026, landing in the Pacific Ocean.

The maximum distance made by the spacecraft reached 252,756 miles, according to Jacob Phillips, a live reporter for BBC News. This means that the vessel broke the previous record for the longest distance humans have ever traveled in space.

“I think Artemis II was such an amazing and inspiring mission,” said Harrison High School student Joseph Hill. “This mission is the first step in a long journey that will bring permanent human inhabitants to the moon, and eventually bring humans to Mars.”

Not only does this mission mark NASA’s first crewed lunar flyby in over 50 years, but it also marks the first time a woman traveled around the moon and beyond low Earth orbit, as well as the first woman to ever be assigned to a lunar mission. 

Christina Koch, the astronaut in question, has inspired women and young girls around the world.

“I loved that there was a female astronaut; it’s super inspirational,” said Mariana Santiago-Escobar, a senior at Harrison High School. “I mean, even if you aren’t into space, it is super inspiring because it’s showing young girls they can be in male-dominated fields.”

Artemis II represents a significant step in NASA’s broader Artemis program, which aims to establish a long-term human presence on the moon. As future missions build on its success, the flight serves as both a technical milestone and a moment of progress in expanding who participates in space exploration.

Before transmission cut out for a 40-minute period as the crew passed behind the moon, Pilot Victor Glover said the following: “Thank you to all of you for allowing us the immense privilege to be on this journey together. It’s quite amazing, and as we go on this journey, thinking about the NASA mission to explore the unknown in air and space, to innovate for the benefit of humanity, and to inspire the world through discovery. And as you’ve gone along through this journey with us, hopefully we’re doing just those things.” 

The message is a clear call to all Americans about what lies ahead.