Reviewed by: Mallory Kimbrell
Artemis II crew thanks Huntsville in exciting, sold-out panel event at Toyota Field
Reading time: 3 minutes
On Monday, August 31, the Rocket City had a meaningful, full circle visit from the Artemis II Crew who traveled around the moon and back in April.
The astronauts made a grand entrance to Toyota Field greeted by local families, engineers and space nerds clad in Artemis shirts and Space Camp suits (some even carrying homemade signs!)
Read more below about why it was important to the crew to visit Huntsville, and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get news like this delivered to your inbox.
Huntsville families, engineers + space nerds sell out event
Attendees pictured after hearing from the Artemis II crew (Elizabeth Hobbs / Hville Blast)
Last Friday, August 28, Trash Pandas announced that the Artemis II crew would be visiting the Rocket City for an exclusive Q&A panel event. Within 24 hours, the free tickets were sold out.
Artemis II enthusiasts and contributors of all ages packed Toyota Field for the event in true Huntsville fashion.
The event’s moderator, Marcia Lindstrom (Strategic Communications Manager of the NASA Space Launch System), thanked locals for hosting some of the country’s largest launch and splashdown watch parties earlier this year.
Artemis II crew thanks Huntsville for their role in the mission
Toyota Field welcomed the Artemis II crew to the field:
- Reid Wiseman (NASA, Commander)
- Victor Glover (NASA, Pilot)
- Christina Koch (NASA, Mission Specialist)
- Jeremy Hansen (Canadian Space Agency, Mission Specialist)
The humble crew began the event thanking audience members for the role they played in the launch, asking attendees to stand who had worked on the Artemis II mission in any capacity. To no one’s surprise, nearly half the crowd stood and received applause.
“Our celebration of coming home wasn’t complete until we got to be here and thank you all here in Huntsville.”
Christina Koch
The crew recapped the mission while an emotional highlight video played, expressing gratitude for the sincere trust they placed in Huntsville and all individuals who contributed to the mission.
Find out how Huntsville is helping future Artemis missions
Audience Q&A + advice from Christina
The crew took turns answering questions submitted by the audience about their time in space and preparing for the mission.
When asked what advice she’d give her younger self, Christina Koch (5x Space Camp alumna) shared the following words of wisdom:
- “Find your fulfillment: Find something you truly love that gives you meaning that you can do for the longest, for the slowest—and still love every day.”
- “Do what scares you (safely): Something that calls your name, but feels just out of reach, is usually exactly the direction you need to go.”
- “Support the people around you: Supporting your friends is the one thing that will lift everyone up, and give you the perspective you need to be your best self.”
She even gave Space Camp a shoutout:
“What I would’ve told my younger self is to embrace teamwork. I was a fiercely independent, go-getter problem-solver. I didn’t discover teamwork until later in life.
Space Camp tried to teach me—you guys did great—and now teamwork makes every single problem to solve that much more fun.”
Christina Koch
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