The four Artemis II astronauts said Saturday that they're "bonded forever" in their first public remarks one day after completing NASA's first lunar mission in more than 50 years

Artemis II, NASA's first crewed mission to the moon in more than 50 years, launched Wednesday, April 1. It represents a shift from short visits toward sustained exploration, where understanding lunar geology and resources becomes as important as the engineering that gets astronauts there.

The four astronauts — NASA commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hansen — spent Monday’s seven-hour lunar flyby taking photos and making observations from the Orion spacecraft, which they named Integrity.

A Kentuckian designed the mission patch for the four-person crew of the Artemis II moon mission. Gregory Manchess, an award-winning painter from Fort Thomas, created the patch over a two-year period.

So much for journalistic objectivity. The BBC science editor covering the launch of Artemis II couldn’t contain her enthusiasm

The Artemis II crew has traveled farther from Earth than ever before. How to see new moon photos, watch lunar flyby today. See schedule for moon mission