In a first, Artemis II moon astronauts make ‘ship to ship’ call to ISS

Floating more than 200,000 nautical miles from Earth, the Artemis II crew made history Tuesday with the first-ever ship-to-ship call between a moon mission and the International Space Station. The four astronauts aboard their Orion spacecraft "Integrity" chatted for 15 minutes with their ISS colleagues, trading stories about the realities of spaceflight and what mission member Jessica Meir dubbed "moon joy."

Astronaut Christina Koch, who previously worked on the space station, marveled at how her lunar vantage point revealed Earth surrounded by vast "blackness." She reflected on humanity's shared origins, saying, "It truly emphasized how alike we are, how the same thing keeps every single person on planet Earth alive. We evolved on the same planet."

The exchange offered a touching moment when Koch addressed her colleague Meir as her "astro sister," saying, "I always hoped we would be in space again together, but I never thought it would be like this. It's amazing."