Tom Hanks is celebrating the launch of the historic Artemis II mission and the four astronauts embarking on the mission. For those unversed, Artemis II marks the first time in over 50 years that astronauts have traveled beyond low Earth orbit. NASA launched its historic Artemis II mission on Wednesday. Hanks penned a lengthy note on his Instagram, naming each astronaut embarking on the mission and cheering for their safe return.
Tom Hanks reacts to Artemis II launch
Apollo 13 star Tom Hanks cheered for NASA’s historic Artemis II launch and thanked each astronaut by name. He wrote, “Did you know that no humans have traveled beyond the gravitational pull of the Earth since December 1972? That changes today when the crew of Artemis lifts off from the Cape… Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, on a voyage around the Moon. Godspeed, Artemis… And thank you.”
He shared a two-carousel photo: one with the text and the second, a candid picture of himself with the astronauts. Unsurprisingly, the post garnered 53.4K likes, 2,689 shares, and 907 retweets. Notably, the 10-day-long Artemis II mission, consisting of three American astronauts (Wiseman, Glover, and Koch) and one Canadian (Hansen), has embarked upon a historic mission. They may travel farther from Earth than any humans ever have before. The spacecraft is named Orion CM-003 Integrity because it “embodies the foundation of trust, respect, candor, and humility across the crew,” and it is on a free-return path. (via Entertainment Weekly).
The Artemis II mission will likely surpass the record set in 1970 by the crew of Apollo 13. Interestingly, Hanks headlined the eponymous 1995 film based on the historic space mission. The Forrest Gump star is going above and beyond for the Artemis II mission and its crew.
The 69-year-old actor recently co-wrote and narrated the film The Moonwalkers: A Journey with Tom Hanks, which highlights NASA’s lunar voyages and features exclusive interviews between Hanks and the Artemis II astronauts.
Originally written by Anwaya Mane on Mandatory.
