Artemis II Astronaut Reflects Upon Return

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Uncanny Valley | WIRED

Episode: Artemis II Astronaut Reflects Upon Return

Date: April 17, 2026
Host: Brian (WIRED)
Guest: Victor Glover, Artemis II Pilot

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Episode Overview

This special coda of Uncanny Valley features an intimate interview with Victor Glover, the pilot of Artemis II—the first NASA mission to the Moon in over 50 years. In his first days back on Earth, Glover reflects on the emotional and physical journey to the Moon's far side, the profound moments of isolation and togetherness, and the intense experience of returning to Earth.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Processing the Mission’s Impact

• Victor Glover shares his ongoing struggle to process the magnitude of the Artemis II journey.
  • He prioritizes time with family and hasn’t begun to journal his thoughts yet, wanting to give himself space before unpacking the experience.
  • Quote:

    “It's not because I'm too busy. My body just wants to pause and just enjoy and just be with my family...I'm just going to keep doing that until it feels right.” (Victor Glover, 03:11)

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Experiencing Isolation on the Far Side of the Moon

• Uncontactable for over 40 minutes, Glover and his crewmates are farther from Earth than any humans before.
  • During the radio blackout, the team remained busy with scientific observations and routine tasks.
  • Glover described a mix of technical focus and human vulnerability.
  • He recounted recording personal thoughts—accidentally voicing a prayer for his family and for renewed communications—showing the blending of personal and professional in these moments.
  • The shared experience underscored humanity's deep need for togetherness.
  • Quote:

    “I intended to say a silent prayer and just, you know, for my family back there watching and to regain communication...I just wound up saying it into the recording.”
    (Victor Glover, 04:20)

  • Profound realisation:

    “We crave. This experience told us how much we crave togetherness.”
    (Victor Glover, 05:35)

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Human and Technical Duality of the Crew

• Glover admired his crewmates’ ability to switch between technical, artistic, and creative thinking.
  • Quote:

    “It’s amazing watching them adapt to the cultural, the poetic, the artistic and creative, but then to the technical and operational...they prepared so much for all of those things.”
    (Victor Glover, 05:10)

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The Intensity and Danger of Reentry

• Reentry described as ‘intense’ and hazardous—both physically and mentally demanding.
  • The capsule plunges back to Earth at 25,000 mph (Mach 39), enveloped in a plasma fireball.
  • Communications black out for six minutes; only the crew can intervene if problems arise.
  • Glover details the physical stresses—heat, pressure, G-forces—and the importance of remaining alert.
  • The moment of splashdown is described as “spiritual” and a powerful return to Earth.
  • Quote:

    “We are a ball of fire. We are a fireball falling through the sky. We are out of communications for six minutes...And then when we splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, it was just glorious. It was truly a spiritual moment because we were back on Earth, back home.”
    (Victor Glover, 06:36)

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Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On Processing the Mission:

  “I've tried picking up my journal, and I'm just not...I'm just not there yet...I don't want to rush through it. I want to do it when the time is right.”
  (Victor Glover, 03:23)

• On Human Connection:

  “I wanted to talk about love...I just said something that was very familiar and comforting to me, which is loving God and loving your neighbor, how important that is. I could have said the golden rule...but I didn't. I just said what was easy and familiar.”
  (Victor Glover, 05:23)

• On Reentry:

  “The heat was intense, almost 5,000 degrees, four Gs, for a very long time. It was physically challenging, but we also had to be alert enough to intervene if it needed crew action...it was just glorious. It was truly a spiritual moment.”
  (Victor Glover, 07:11)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:52] – Victor Glover joins the show
• [03:11] – Processing the Mission’s Impact
• [04:20] – Life on the far side of the Moon; human isolation and prayer
• [05:10] – The crew’s unique blend of technical and creative strengths
• [05:35] – Craving togetherness amidst cosmic isolation
• [06:36] – The intensity, danger, and spirituality of reentry
• [08:05] – Conversation wrap-up

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Takeaways

Victor Glover’s reflections bridge the technical wonder and human vulnerability of deep space exploration. From the silence behind the Moon to the fireball rush of reentry, Artemis II is not just a milestone in science—it’s a profound human journey, driven by preparation, togetherness, and gratitude for home.

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(For full context, the transcript includes only the content segment; advertisements and non-content segments are omitted from this summary.)

Transcript

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[Brian]

We have a special coda today for Uncanny Valley listeners. It's someone I'm very excited to talk to. He just returned from NASA's first mission to the moon in more than 50 years. He and his crewmates have traveled farther from Earth than any other humans in history. Joining me now is Artemis 2 pilot Victor Glover. Victor, welcome. Thank you so much for being here.

[Victor Glover]

Thanks, Brian. Thanks for having me.

[Brian]

I want to go back to one of the first things you said when you returned home. You said, I have not processed what we just did, and I'm afraid to even start trying. Now that you've had a few days, have you had that time to process? What did you find?

[Victor Glover]

Great question. And I have not. We've been in medical checks and science collection and reconditioning, and it. It. But it's also more than that. It's not because I'm too busy. It's just. I don't know, My. My body just wants to pause and just enjoy and just be with my family. When my kids are around and free and want to hang out, I want to just hang out. And so I'm just going to keep doing that until it feels right. I've tried picking up my journal, and I'm just not. I'm just not there yet. And I can tell you the facts and maybe give you a little commentary on some things, but there's so much to unpack. I just. I also don't want to rush through it. I want to do it when. When the time is right.

[Brian]

Totally understand. Let's maybe see if we can unpack at least one part of it that I have been thinking about ever since I saw it happen or watched it on the live stream. It's April 6th. You've been traveling through space for nearly a week. By this point, you're about to pass behind the far side of the moon, and for 40 minutes, you lose contact with Earth. You are alone in space with your crewmates, no one to talk to outside of that ship. Take us back to how that felt. What's going through your mind? What are you doing in that moment? How does it feel to be so distant?

[Victor Glover]

You know, in that moment, it was. It was significant, but it was not like entry, the blackout on entry, you know, it was happening in a very dynamic, you know, from a mental but also physical standpoint. During the blackout, we were actually working very hard. That was the moment we were closest to the far side of the moon and just continuing to try to unlock secrets of our near neighbor in the sky. And so I said a quick prayer. I was recording observations, and I just. I intended to say a silent prayer and just, you know, for my family back there watching and to regain communication and for this to go up. And I just wound up saying it into the recording. So there's like, science, observations, prayer, and then right back to the science. But we were really busy. It was busy. There were some human moments. We made some jokes and had a quick snack, but then we went right back to work. And this crew, it's amazing watching them adapt to the cultural, the poetic, the artistic and creative, but then to the technical and operational. And there's just so much skill and talent because they prepared so much for all of those things. Now, I will say, the moment for me actually in that that was maybe the most profound from a human connection standpoint, was right before. You know, I don't think any of the things we ever shared were written prepared. We just tried to share what we were thinking and feeling. And I wanted to talk about love and thought of some other fancy things I might say and didn't say them. I just said something that was very familiar and comforting to me, which is loving God and loving your neighbor, how important that is. I could have said the golden rule. I could have talked about, you know, spooky action at a distance, but I didn't. You know, I just said what was easy and familiar. And that moment to me, was an opportunity for us to all kind of, hey, while we're back here, you can think about us. When we're back there, we'll be thinking about you. And I think we just, you know, we crave. This experience told us how much we crave togetherness. And that was, that was. That was really the profound moment for me.

[Brian]

Victor, you talk about the re entry and how that was a dynamic moment. Another time you were cut off. Can you describe what makes that a potentially dangerous moment? It's very high anxiety for us on Earth, just watching. I can imagine in the. In the shuttle as well. What was that like for you? Why is it so dangerous? And what was it like to splash down and know that everything turned out okay?

[Victor Glover]

We are going. As we come toward the Earth, we're literally falling back to Earth. We hit the atmosphere going seven miles a second. We're going 25,000 miles per hour. Or, you know, there's. It depends on how you calculate it. But we're going. Going Mach 39 is what we estimated, 38.8. And so we hit the atmosphere going so fast that the friction just creates a plasma cloud around us. We are a ball of fire. We are a fireball falling through the sky. We are out of communications for six minutes. The entire trajectory, entry trajectory takes 13 and a half minutes. And there's so much pressure and temperature on the vehicle that it could burn the vehicle up. We have a heat shield designed to burn off a blade and to absorb that energy. But when we're blacked out, the only people that can intervene if something doesn't go right is the crew. And so we have to pay attention. We're also feeling the first sustained gravitational forces, the first push, the accelerations, and it was just, it was intense. The word intense. It truly was. Physically on the vehicle, the heat was intense, almost 5,000 degrees, four GS. For a very long time. It was physically challenging, but we also had to be alert enough to intervene if it needed crew action. And then on the other end of it, we had all of the sensations, every sound, every pyro, every parachute, every riser string that went out. We could hear and feel it. And then when we splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, it was just glorious. It was truly a spiritual moment because we were back on Earth, back home.

[Brian]

Victor Glover, Artemis 2 pilot thank you so much for joining us.

[Victor Glover]

Thank you, Brian.

[Brian]

That's our show for today. Uncanny Valley is produced by Kaleidoscope Content. Adriana Tapia produced this episode. It was mixed by Amar Lal at Macrosound. Kimberly Chua is our senior Digital Production manager, Kate Osborne is our executive producer, and Katie Drummond is Wired's Global Editorial director. Comprehensive, witty, speculative, critical, insightful, profound, wide ranging.

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