Retired Astronaut to Newsmax: Artemis Lunar Mission 'Truly Spectacular'

Former NASA astronaut Bill McArthur told Newsmax on Tuesday that NASA's Artemis II lunar mission delivered a "truly spectacular" moment that highlights why the United States continues to push deeper into space, as the first crewed flight around the moon in more than 50 years headed home after a historic flyby.

Artemis II launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. EDT April 1, carrying commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen on an approximately 10-day mission around the moon and back, making it NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission and the first human lunar flyby since Apollo.

Speaking to Newsmax's "National Report" as the mission unfolded, McArthur, a retired U.S. Army colonel and veteran NASA astronaut, said the flight had stirred emotions he had not expected, especially because Wiseman is a neighbor.

"People ask me very often, do I miss it? And up until this week, I kind of say, no, I didn't miss it," McArthur said. "But this is truly spectacular. It's just breathtaking. It truly shows how great the accomplishments of NASA are and will be in the future."

His remarks came as Artemis II astronauts completed a lunar flyby that NASA said marked a key step toward later Artemis missions, with the agency planning Artemis III as a 2027 mission to test systems needed for future moon landings as part of a broader effort to establish a sustained presence near and on the lunar surface.

McArthur said one of the most striking parts of the mission was the vantage point the crew gained while viewing both the moon up close and Earth from deep space.

"But that's the thing I'm most envious about are the things that they have are getting to see both the Earth as an entire sphere, the lunar surface up close. Those are just truly breathtaking," he said.

Asked about reported lunar observations, including brown and green tones on the surface, McArthur declined to offer an explanation and said he would defer to scientists.

"You know, it's, I truly don't know. And I'll have to leave it to the lunar geological scientist to explain those things," he said. "You know, it could just be the uniqueness of the light being reflected from the angles they're seeing. And so again, I'm not a scientist, so I really won't speculate."

McArthur framed the mission as part of a broader national and human effort, invoking President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 Rice University speech and arguing that taking on difficult challenges drives progress and achievement.

"It just harkens back to JFK speech in 1962 in which he said, we're going to do these things not because they're easy, but because they're hard, and that they are going to make the challenge," McArthur said.

"Meeting this challenge will make us as human beings, the United States as a nation, but we and our allies collectively and humanity stronger,” he added.

McArthur said the mission’s meaning extends beyond engineering breakthroughs to how people think about Earth.

"I think when we reach so far and can reflect back to our home planet while at the same time looking outward, it changes how we view ourselves and our relationship with our home here on Earth," he said.

"I think it helps really reinforce that deep sense of obligation that we live under,” he continued. "We live in a very, very special place, and we need to be good stewards of our home planet."

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