Viewers are reacting to an ‘embarrassing and uncomfortable’ moment during a call President Donald Trump had with the crew members of Artemis 2.
Four astronauts are part of NASA’s first human test flight to the Moon in over 50 years, having just completed their flyby of the lunar rock last night (April 6).
This feat has also marked the furthest humans have ever traveled away from Earth, beating the previous record set by Apollo 13.
Aboard the Orion capsule is NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and one notable person who was on the line to congratulate them was President Trump.
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He gave the team a call after finishing their flyby to say a few words.
Trump said: “People haven’t been there in a long time, but it’s gonna be more and more prevalent because we’re gonna be doing a lot of traveling.”
The president added: “And then you’re gonna ultimately do the whole big trip to Mars and that’s gonna be very exciting.”
Many people have taken to social media to share their reactions to the call, with one user posting on Reddit: “Awkward scenes aboard Artemis 2 as Donald Trump (while in a conversation with the crew), stops ranting and none of the astronauts have anything left to say to him, leading to extended dead air.”
One person replied: “They are literally the the furthest humans away from the guy and they *still* can't get away from him.”
Another wrote: “I know it's typical for Americans who achieve something remarkable to receive a call from the president, but he makes these moments so embarrassing and uncomfortable. He can't do a brief congratulations; he has to make it all about himself and ramble about nothing.”
A third commented: “The mic just spinning and floating as they each fidget with it in a "I don't know what else to do with my hands" way is really the icing on the cake.”
And a fourth user added: “How embarrassing, such a remarkable achievement for humanity and the worst possible president in American office to congratulate them.”
Artemis 2 initially launched to space last Wednesday (April 1) and is expected to splash down on Friday (April 10), making the entire lunar trip a 10-day mission.
While the crew didn’t land on the Moon, we could see humans back on the lunar surface as early as 2027 with the upcoming Artemis 3 mission.