Artemis Crew Delivers Touching Easter Address Echoing Apollo 8 Mission

The Artemis II astronauts shared a message of love and unity as they approached the moon on Easter Sunday.

Apr. 5, 2026 at 10:49pm

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

The crew of the Artemis II mission sent a heartfelt Easter message to the world on Sunday as they approached the moon, drawing parallels to the iconic Christmas Eve broadcast by the Apollo 8 crew in 1968. Astronaut Jeremy Hansen spoke of the universal message of love in the teachings of Jesus, while Christina Koch shared that the crew had even hidden some dehydrated scrambled egg 'Easter eggs' around the capsule to celebrate the holiday.

Why it matters

The Artemis II mission is the next major step in NASA's Artemis program to return humans to the lunar surface, and the crew's Easter message continues the tradition of space exploration missions connecting with the public during major holidays and religious observances. The similarities to Apollo 8's Christmas Eve broadcast from lunar orbit further cement the historical significance of the Artemis program as it follows in the footsteps of its pioneering predecessors.

The details

The Artemis II crew, including astronauts Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, and Victor Glover, delivered their Easter message while approaching the moon on Sunday. Hansen spoke of the universal message of love in the teachings of Jesus, saying the crew's view of Earth from space reinforced this message. Koch shared that the crew had hidden 'Easter eggs' of the dehydrated scrambled egg variety around the capsule to celebrate the holiday. The crew's Easter message and lunar approach during one of Christianity's biggest holidays was yet another similarity to the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, which also tested the ability to send a crew around the moon and back safely, passing the lunar surface on Christmas Eve.

  • The Artemis II crew delivered their Easter message on Sunday, April 6, 2026 as they approached the moon.
  • The Apollo 8 mission passed around the lunar surface on Christmas Eve in 1968.

The players

Artemis II

NASA's next major mission to send astronauts around the moon as a precursor to the Artemis program's goal of returning humans to the lunar surface.

Apollo 8

The 1968 NASA mission that was the first to send astronauts around the moon, paving the way for the later Apollo 11 moon landing.

Jeremy Hansen

One of the astronauts on the Artemis II mission who delivered the Easter message.

Christina Koch

One of the astronauts on the Artemis II mission who shared details about the crew's Easter celebrations on board.

Victor Glover

The pilot of the Artemis II mission who also participated in the Easter message broadcast.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“No matter your faith or religion, for me the teachings of Jesus were always a very simple truth of love, universal love. Love yourself, and love others.”

— Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II Astronaut

“Something for us being here looking back at all of you through one tiny window, that just resonates 100 percent true. Our goal as humanity should be to just follow in that example, there were may examples in the past, but that's one example of love that we can just all follow in the footsteps, and it will serve us well.”

— Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II Astronaut

“They were the dehydrated scrambled egg variety, but we're all pretty happy with them.”

— Christina Koch, Artemis II Astronaut

What’s next

The Artemis II mission will continue its journey around the moon before returning safely to Earth, paving the way for the Artemis III mission to land astronauts on the lunar surface.

The takeaway

The Artemis II crew's Easter message, echoing the historic Apollo 8 mission, demonstrates how space exploration continues to inspire and unite people around the world, even during major religious holidays. Their message of love and unity resonates as humanity embarks on a new era of lunar exploration.