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An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletterThe parallels between the Artemis 2 and Apollo 8 moon missions now include a stirring holiday message.
On Saturday (April 4), as Artemis 2's Orion capsule sped toward the moon, a CBS News reporter asked mission pilot Victor Glover if he wished to share any Easter thoughts with those of us here on Earth.
"I don't have anything prepared. I'm glad you brought it up, though; I think these observances are important," Glover responded.
Then he gave us some words that showed how thoughtful and eloquent he is, and how well he can think on his feet.
"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," Glover said. "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."
Get the Space.com NewsletterContact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsGlover invoked God and the Bible in his impromptu address, but he took pains to reach believers and non-believers alike
"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," he said of Earth. "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."
Apollo 8 and Artemis 2 are the first missions of their respective programs (Apollo and Artemis) to send people to the moon. (In fact, Apollo 8 was the first human spaceflight mission ever to go beyond Earth orbit.)
Like Apollo 8, Artemis 2 will not land on the lunar surface; rather, it will loop around the moon's far side, a milestone that will occur on Monday evening (April 6). That flyby will slingshot Artemis 2's Orion — which holds Glover, fellow NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch and Canada's Jeremy Hansen — back to Earth, where it will arrive on Friday (April 10).
On the same day that Apollo 8 delivered its Christmas Eve message, lunar module pilot Bill Anders snapped one of the most iconic photos ever taken — the famous "Earthrise" shot, which showed our gorgeous planet hanging over the moon's desolate gray dirt.
The Artemis 2 astronauts will try to recreate that photo during their lunar flyby on Monday. And hopefully the image will have similar effects to the original, which has been credited with helping to inspire the environmental movement and drawing all of us on this fractured world just a little closer together.
Mike WallSpaceflight and Tech EditorMichael Wall is the Spaceflight and Tech Editor for Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers human and robotic spaceflight, military space, and exoplanets, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.
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