Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Artemis II crew awestruck at Red Rocks.
Image credit: Lockheed Martin

MORRISON, Colorado – The Artemis II crew that circuited the moon earlier this year came full circle, dropping here at a distinctive spot on Earth that’s visually salient to both the moon and Mars, the Red Planet.

The vast and stunning Red Rocks Amphitheatre served on August 3 as both an inoculation of near-term nostalgia and heart-felt congratulations to the crew for the impressive journey of Artemis II.

The 10-day mission began on April 1 of this year, flew around the moon and back, splashing down in ocean waters on April 10. It was the first crewed flight to saunter spaceward beyond low Earth orbit in 53 years.

Some 8,500 people packed the open-air venue at Red Rocks to make eye-contact with space travelers Reid Wiseman, commander, Victor Glover, pilot, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen as mission specialists – all of them clearly awestruck by the crowd reaction.
Image credit: Lockheed Martin

Some 8,500 people packed the open-air venue at Red Rocks to make eye-contact with space travelers Reid Wiseman, commander, Victor Glover, pilot, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen as mission specialists – all of them clearly awestruck by the crowd reaction.

For more details, go to my new Space.com story – “Artemis II pilot thanks NASA for letting him fly Orion by hand: ‘I’m still blown away by that trust’” – at:

https://www.space.com/space-exploration/artemis/artemis-ii-pilot-thanks-nasa-for-letting-him-fly-orion-by-hand-im-still-blown-away-by-that-trust