• Christina Koch: “Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbingly in the universe”
• Christina Koch: “Planet Earth, you are a crew”

American astronaut Christina Koch fought back tears during a hero’s welcome for the Artemis 2 crew at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, following their return to Earth after a historic journey around the Moon.

The reception brought together NASA staff and dignitaries to honor the crew, which included US astronauts Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover alongside Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, after their safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Friday following a mission lasting nearly 10 days.

The mission marked the first crewed flyby of the Moon in more than half a century under NASA’s Artemis program, which is designed to return humans to deep space exploration.

Reflecting on the experience, Koch said she had not yet fully processed everything the journey had to teach her, adding that she still has much to learn from it.

She then delivered a striking message about Earth and humanity, saying: “Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbingly in the universe… and the one new thing I know is, Planet Earth, you are a crew. Thank you.”