Non-religious NASA astronaut 'broke down in tears' seeing cross after Artemis II mission

NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman said that although he is not a religious man, he “broke down in tears” after returning from the mission and felt such intense emotion that he asked to speak with a Navy chaplain.

During a press conference at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on Thursday, NASA astronauts who returned from the Artemis II mission last week discussed their experience in outer space. The astronauts were asked whether they had an experience similar to that of Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell, who, after returning from the mission, focused on studying the nature of human consciousness. 

When Wiseman was asked whether he experienced a “universal connectedness” upon returning to Earth or a “a shift in consciousness,” he described the emotional impact of the experience.

"I'm not really a religious person, but there was just no other avenue for me to explain anything or to experience anything. So I asked for the chaplain on the Navy ship to just come visit us for a minute. And when that man walked in, I'd never met him before in my life, but I saw the cross on his collar and I broke down in tears." 

"It's very hard to fully grasp what we just went through," he added, noting that the crew has been undergoing medical testing and hasn't yet had time to decompress. "We have not had that reflection time. So I'm basing this on what we saw. And when the sun eclipsed behind the moon, I think all four of us ... I turned to Victor [Glover], and I said, 'I don't think humanity has evolved to the point of being able to comprehend what we're looking at right now because it was otherworldly.'"

Glover, the Artemis II pilot, added, “That was a really special moment. I was in the bed right across when the chaplain came in, and the only thing I would add is I am a religious person, but everything else is the same. There is something in there, and as we start to process, I'll have to tell you next week, but I haven't had a chance to really unpack it all yet.

During an interview with CBS News from space on Easter Sunday, Glover reflected on how the experience of leaving Earth has reinforced his faith. “When I read the Bible and I look at all of the amazing things that were done for us who were created, … we’re in a spaceship really far from Earth, but you’re on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe, in the cosmos.” 

“You are special in all of this emptiness,” Glover said. “This is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe. You have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together.” 

Glover concluded his remarks about Easter Sunday by telling CBS News, “Whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not … this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are and that we are the same thing and that we got to get through this together.” 

According to NASA’s website, the Artemis II mission lasted just over a week and consisted of a “crewed lunar flyby” designed as “a key step toward long-term return to the moon and future missions to Mars.” The 21-day Artemis IV mission is scheduled for 2028, and that trip will include a surface landing on the moon, where crew members are expected to spend about a week.