The crew of Artemis II said on Thursday that no single Hollywood movie could do their experience justice – it would take a whole series.
Reid Wiseman, 50, Victor Glover, 49, Christina Koch, 47, and Jeremy Hansen, 50, blasted off on April 1 in the first manned Moon mission since 1972.
During their ten-day journey they travelled further into space than any human – 252,756 miles, beating the record of 248,655 miles set by Apollo 13 in 1970.
In total, the astronauts flew 685,000 miles – another record – before returning last Saturday.
In 1995, the Apollo 13 mission was turned into a Hollywood film starring Tom Hanks.
In the first press conference since Artemis II returned, Mr Glover recalled a dramatic moment during the descent to Earth when the crew went into free-fall before their capsule’s parachutes were deployed.
He added said: ‘That was a very intense 13 minutes and 36 seconds. If you dove off a skyscraper backwards, that’s what it felt like.’
The crew said it was hard to grasp what they had seen and accomplished.
The crew of Artemis II (pictured) said on Thursday that no single Hollywood movie could do their experience justice – it would take a whole series
Mr Wiseman explained: ‘When the sun eclipsed behind the moon, I turned to Victor and I said, “I don’t think humanity has evolved to the point of being able to comprehend what we are looking at”.
‘It was otherworldly. Every one of us cried.’
Nasa’s next goal is to establish a permanent base on the Moon. Ms Koch said of the project: ‘Accomplishing the near impossible is exactly what we do.’
Speaking of a lunar landing, Mr Wiseman said: ‘If you had given us keys to a lander, we would’ve taken it down… It is absolutely doable, and it is doable soon.’
In a test flight next year, Artemis III will dock with a lunar lander in orbit around Earth.
In 2028, Artemis IV will try to land two astronauts on the Moon – the first time humans will have set foot there since 1972.