Press Releases
Congressman Rogers Talks to Artemis II Astronauts During Their Return Flight from the Moon
Apr 09 2026
SOMERSET, KY – U.S. Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers (KY-05) was one of 13 Members of Congress invited by NASA to join a live video call with NASA’s Artemis II Astronauts. The astronauts are scheduled to return to Earth on Friday, April 10, 2026 after completing their historic mission around the far side of the moon, going further than any human beings have traveled before.
As Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice, Science and related agencies, Rep. Rogers is responsible for federal funding for NASA missions. Each Congressional Member on the call had the opportunity to ask one question during the astronauts’ final full day in space aboard the Orion space capsule, which they named “Integrity”.
Congressman Rogers crafted a unique question after receiving feedback on social media about what people in Southern and Eastern Kentucky want to know most about the Artemis mission.
“After emerging from the far side of the moon and seeing the entirety of the Earth through that small window, how has it impacted your determination for what America can accomplish in the space race?” asked Congressman Rogers.
“It reminds you first, right now, we're 106,000 miles away from planet Earth still, and we'll be home tomorrow. Part of this is just scale. It is unbelievable to think that we could build an international team led by the United States of America and set our sights out on a sustained presence on the moon and onto Mars, and then we could go and achieve it," said Reid Wiseman, Artemis II Commander. "I know we did this in Apollo, and it was absolutely amazing, but I will tell you, having been there, the four of us, having been there just now, this is nothing short of a miracle. It is incredible that we can go out and do this, that we can play with gravity, that we can target around the moon, that we can send four humans in a spaceship 250,000 miles from home and bring them back. There is nothing this nation cannot do when it has a vision. It just has the capability to go out and get anything done we want to get done.”
Congressman Rogers also told the astronauts that he was proud of them and proud of Morehead State University, where this historic mission is being tracked. MSU's tracking station is the only one in NASA’s Deep Space Network that is not owned by the federal agency.
“I’m incredibly proud of Morehead State’s Space Science program and the unique opportunities that they offer to our students in the mountains. Their satellite tracking stations have paved the way for a partnership with NASA that gives our students hands-on experience with the nation’s leading aerospace engineers,” said Rogers. “Our region is a small part of the Artemis II Mission through MSU’s tracking station, reaching into deep space with NASA.”
The Artemis II Orion capsule is scheduled for splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California on Friday evening, just after 8:00 p.m./EDT. The USS John P. Murtha will be on standby to safely bring the Integrity crew to shore.
