WATCH: President Trump Calls Artemis II Astronauts After Record-Breaking Voyage

Late Monday evening, President Trump surprised the astronauts of NASA’s Artemis II mission by phoning in.

His call comes after the crew made history by circling the moon — breaking the record for the farthest distance traveled in space.

President Trump called them “modern-day pioneers.”

He told them that all of America is “really proud” and offered them praise for their “courage” and “genius.”

Here’s a clip from the call:

🚨 BREAKING: President Trump just did a SURPRISE PHONE IN to the Artemis II astronauts following their slingshot around the moon

“HELLO! A VERY special hello to Artemis II!

Today, you've made HISTORY, and made ALL of America really proud. INCREDIBLY proud!”

🚀🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/GrxH1OCgOI

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 7, 2026

Backup here if needed:

During the call, President Trump also said that he plans to invite the astronauts to visit the Oval Office once they return to Earth.

Watch here:

.@POTUS to the Artemis II crew: "I look forward to having you in the Oval Office at the White House, and we will celebrate your incredible achievements and triumphs… I've been pretty busy also, as you know, but I will absolutely find the time… I'm going to be giving you a big… pic.twitter.com/4kP9N8vChS

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 7, 2026

As we previously reported, the crew’s pilot Victor Glover preached a message from the Gospel right before they lost communication with Earth on the far side of the Moon.

Full scoop on that here:

AMAZING: Artemis II Pilot Preaches the Words of Jesus Christ Moments Before Historic Space Feat

While speaking with Glover, President Trump asked him what it was like, being on the far side of the moon with no way to contact Earth.

Here's what he said:

.@POTUS: "What was your feeling when you had no communication?"

Victor Glover: "I said a little prayer, but then I had to keep rolling. I was actually recording scientific observations of the far side of the moon... We were busy up here working really hard, and I must say, it… pic.twitter.com/9NhPqAjJsd

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 7, 2026

In total, the call lasted around 12 minutes.

During that time, President Trump also asked other members of the crew to share their experiences.

CBS News has more on what was discussed:

In a roughly 12-minute call, Mr. Trump praised the astronauts for their "courage" and "genius" — and noted that their trip is a precursor to NASA's bid to return humans to the surface of the moon for the first time in over half a century.

"America is a frontier nation, and the four brave astronauts of Artemis II … really are modern-day pioneers," the president said, adding that the U.S. plans to "push on to Mars" next.

Speaking to the crew when they were just over 250,000 miles from Earth, Mr. Trump is the latest president to make a very-very-very-very-long-distance phone call to astronauts, a tradition most famous for when President Richard Nixon called up Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin while they were on the moon.

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Monday's call appeared to have a delay of several seconds between when the astronauts and the president spoke. The conversation paused at one point, with Mr. Trump remarking, "I think we might've gotten cut off."

The president quizzed the four astronauts on the most unforgettable parts of their journey around the far side of the moon.

The mission's commander, Reid Wiseman, remarked on the opportunity to lay eyes on "sights that no human has ever seen before." But he said the day's biggest surprise came when they watched a solar eclipse and spotted Mars in the distance.

"All of us commented how excited we are to watch this nation and this planet become a two-planet species," he said.

Mission specialist Christina Koch said her biggest highlight was catching her first glimpses of Earth after passing around the moon, a moment that came after a communications blackout.

"It really just reminds you what a special place we have, and how important it is for our nation ... to lead and not follow in exploring deep space," she said.

Pilot Victor Glover told the president their time on the other side of the moon was "quite nice," but the crew was busy making detailed scientific observations: "I said a little prayer, but then I had to keep rolling."

Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, an astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency, told the U.S. president that "Canadians are so proud to be a part of this program."

Mr. Trump has had a complicated relationship with Canada, but he was complimentary on Monday, praising both the U.S.'s northern neighbor and Hansen as the astronaut high-fived his American commander. The president said he had spoken with two important Canadians: Prime Minister Mark Carney and retired hockey great Wayne Gretzky.

"They are so proud of you, and you have a lot of courage. I'm not sure if they'd want to do that. I'm not even sure if The Great One would want to do that, to be honest with you," Mr. Trump told Hansen, using Gretzky's nickname.