Easter From Space: Artemis II Astronaut Victor Glover’s Inspiring Message To Humanity
on Apr 06, 2026
The Crew Spoke On “The Beauty Of Creation” In The Days Before Their Historic Flyby Of The Moon
Speaking 155,000 nautical miles from Earth on Saturday, April 4, the crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission gave an interview with CBS from aboard their Orion spacecraft, named Integrity.
Just three days earlier, their 10-day mission began, with Artemis II set to go around the Moon while also going the furthest into space of any humans in history.
The flyby of their mission is set to occur today (Monday), April 6, with Netflix, Peacock, and HBO Max providing live coverage beginning at 1 p.m. EST (or 10 a.m. PST). NASA also has a consistent livestream, which can be found streaming on YouTube.
During this highly anticipated seven-hour period of observation of the Moon, the crew will go the furthest into space of any human at approximately 1:56 p.m. on April 6, surpassing the 1972 Apollo 13 mission by 4,105 miles, going, at most, 252,760 miles from Earth.
Over the weekend prior to this historic moment, the crew was able to reflect on their mission and comment on the observance of the Easter holiday.
Framing his question to the crew of Artemis II in light of the famous 1968 Christmas Eve reading from Genesis 1:1-10 during the Apollo 8 mission, CBS News’ senior national correspondent Mark Strassmann asked if they had a message for humanity as Easter neared, on April 5.
Responding to the question was the Artemis II mission’s pilot, Victor Glover, who started by noting, “You know, I don’t have anything prepared. I’m glad you brought that up, though. I think these observances are important, and as we are so far from Earth and looking at, you know, the beauty of creation, I think, for me, one of the really important personal perspectives that I have up here is I can really see Earth as one thing.”
Continuing, he said:
“When I read the Bible and I look at all of the amazing things that were done for us, who were created, you have this amazing place … 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 and the cosmos. 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.”
He added, “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.”
Concluding his response, Glover said, “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.”
These comments come after Glover made other inspiring comments on humanity’s place in the universe, saying on Thursday, April 2, “Trust us, you look amazing. You look beautiful, and, from up here, you also look like one thing: homo sapiens. As all of us, no matter where you’re from or what you look like, we’re all one people.”
Watch his comments, and the rest of their April 4 interview with CBS News, here:
Easter Egg Hunt In Space
The next day, the crew of Artemis II gave a few additional comments on the Easter holiday, with Christina Koch, who is becoming the first woman to fly around the Moon, revealing that the crew had some fun, too.
“We wanted to take a minute to commemorate the holiday that we have at this time of year, something that many religions and many cultures hold dear,” Koch said. “It’s a time of emotions, such as joy, as well as solemness, honoring what’s going on both in our world and our religious beliefs.”
Turning to herself, she then said, “Another aspect of that is our family traditions. I know, for me, if I was on the Earth right now, I would be with my family in Houston … We would be hiding confetti eggs in the backyard and watching two very sweet little girls go try to find them.
Koch then revealed, “To commemorate that onboard, we did hide a few eggs around the cabin. They were the dehydrated scrambled egg variety, but we’re all pretty happy with this.”
Watch the crew’s comments on Sunday, April 5, including Christina Koch’s remarks on observing the Easter holiday, here:
