The Artemis II mission astronauts have released their first video messages from space, giving the public a glimpse of deep-space travel roughly two days into their historic journey.
In the crew's first broadcast, the astronauts describe the stunning view outside Orion's windows.
"You can see the entire globe from pole to pole," NASA astronaut Reid Weisman said. "It was the most spectacular moment, and it paused all four of us in our tracks."
The other astronauts echoed Weisman's awe of the view. "Trust us; you look amazing," NASA astronaut Victor Glover said about Earth. "You look beautiful."
Along with Weisman, Glover, NASA astronaut Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, the fifth "crewmember" to tag along on the mission is Rise, a small, white moon plushie. Designed by 8-year-old Lucas Ye, the moon-themed mascot was chosen from more than 2,600 entries and was inspired by the famous "Earthrise" image from Apollo 8. Once Orion reached weightlessness, Glover was seen playing with the floating plushie during the crew's early broadcast, using it as a traditional signal that the spacecraft was in zero gravity and a lighthearted way to stay active in space.
Koch also added humor to the broadcast by recounting her fix of the jammed $30 million Orion toilet. NASA representatives said the crew and mission control worked together to troubleshoot the problem and later reported that the spacecraft's toilet had been restored to normal operations.
"I'm proud to call myself the space plumber," Koch joked in the broadcast.
